


Valkyrie Arc

by Chukabu00



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied Relationships, Major Original Character(s), Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-20
Updated: 2014-07-04
Packaged: 2018-02-05 12:39:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 29,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1818844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chukabu00/pseuds/Chukabu00
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A 100% original and plausible arc that takes place in the Fairy Tail Universe. In this story, team Natsu joins forces up with two foreign teammates from a far away crime-fighting guild, Lux and Felix. Their enemy being their own nightmares. Implied NaLu.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Before we get started, let me just give you a small piece of interesting. I am more an artist than writer, and I usually draw concept art and base the stories off of what I doodle.
> 
> BONUS. I post the concept art for the story (Characters within it like the characters Lux and Felix in this particular story) on tumblr. My concept blog is conceptualconceptness (dot tumblr dot com). You may like it if you are a visual person.
> 
> On we go

CHAPTER ONE

The sun was shining just as bright as it usually does in Magnolia town. It was a warm day, not too terribly hot or too terribly humid. One of those perfect days that were all too common in this quaint, small city.

And on that day, it so happened that one pink haired mage was walking along the central path of the city, right by the cathedral. From there it was only a short walking distance to the guild hall, his destination. However, he was in no special hurry that morning with the weather so pleasant and the day so beautiful.

The people around him seemed to be equally enjoying this morning. They would walk along their paths doing whatever they pleased with the same content smile spread across their cheeks.

It was… quaint.

But, nothing picturesque lasts forever. Or at least that was how that morning went when Natsu walked past a little bistro and herd a woman scream. It was one of those ugly screams women make when they are utterly afraid or panicking.

He turned instantly to the location the noise came from. Everyone was standing and responding to the fear and panic as a tall man in dark clothes began running away and down the central road. Another figure stood out, a dirty blonde haired man pointing towards him with a long outstretched arm. He was yelling incoherently yet loudly to stop him.

The morning was already underway for Natsu. It was barely ten and action was already taking place.

This should be easy enough. The man was probably a pick pocket who stole a woman's purse. He could complete this easily, little effort, maybe even get a reward for returning whatever the guy stole.

So Natsu began running after the man down the street, around the curve as he bolted into a small alley between two brick buildings. He was gaining on the dark figure who he could now see with greater detail. He wore a long dark trench coat and his hair was short and black.

But then, out of nowhere, the man falls. An ungraceful face plant onto the cobble stone road.

It was odd to see a thief fall because you would think they'd be coordinated.

Natsu came to a stop because he then realized why the man fell. A woman was standing there, appearing out of nowhere. She had short white hair and a red shirt with long square coattails that reached down behind her knees. She also wore short black shorts and grey leggings underneath as well as sturdy black boots.

But these observations were sudden as the man stood to attack the woman. Everything was happening so fast that Natsu could not even respond readily. An unusually tense atmosphere surrounded the small alley accompanied by a severely unsettling feeling. He wanted to protect the innocent woman, but it soon became clear just how wrong he was.

Just then, the man on the ground leaned up, planting one knee on the ground, ready to attack. And, as the dark figure he came up to punch her, she tactfully grabbed his forearm and kicked his ankle so he was airborne. Then, with vicious power, she flipped him.

He landed hard on his back, enough to knock more than the breath out of him. It looked dreadfully painful.

Then with a grin, she pressed her foot down on his chest. A sign of victory.

Natsu just watched the young woman. She had taken down someone twice her size with incredible ease and he began to see that she must not be a regular woman.

Was it not clear from the start?

"Hey!" he yelled at her, "Who are you?"

She turned to face him, her foot still on the man's chest keeping him in place. He could now see her better than from before. Her hair was white, but shoulder length and flipped up at the end. She seemed to be about twenty of so and stood at average height. She had light skin accented with freckles across her cheeks and nose. However, her most striking aspect was her golden eyes that seemed to radiate.

But just as she was about to answer, a voice called out to her from around the corner. He called out the name "Lux" and she responded.

It ended up being the same man with dirty blonde hair that had called out for the criminal (now defeated on the ground).

"I got him-" she responded tapping her toe on his chest to signal his defeat, "Easy."

He came to a stop, laughing triumphantly at their catch. They were both well dressed in a fashion more conservative than that found in Fiore. He wore long pants and nicer shoes with a brown buttoned vest and green collared shirt. He was a sturdily build man, muscular, with a handsome face and well kept sandy locks.

The woman then knelt down and looked at him in the face before he disappeared suddenly. It appeared like his legs began to disappear first and his head last, almost as if a wall of invisibility was sliding down his body. And then, he was completely gone.

Natsu could only watch with utter confusion. He had never seen something like that happen to a person. Sure, weapons and armor came and went similarly like Erza commonly showed. But never had he seen or heard of magic that allowed a human be stored away like one of Erza's swords. "Wait!" yelled Natsu running forward, "Who are you people? What did you do? Where did he go?"

Lux looked to Natsu with matching confusion. She did not know who he was either, so each interrogating question seemed unimportant. Should she have to answer to him at all? However, he seemed like a local, which she was clearly not, and decided to answer.

"My name is Lux and this is my partner Felix," she said gesturing to the young man by her side. She rested her hands on her hips, "We are members of the crime fighting guild Septagram and this man is a wanted criminal from the Capitol City, Crocus. His case reached a dead end and we were hired to solve it."

Natsu stood, dumbfounded. She was so frank and right to the point, something admirable and sophisticated. Everything she said was articulated and professional. She was clearly from no rag tag guild, but rather a serious organization.

Natsu crossed his arms. "Where did that man go?"

"The labyrinth," responded Felix with a matter-of-fact tone as if was rudimentary knowledge. As if he was supposed to know what that meant. He had the same professional and serious attitude as Lux, but to a slightly less intense degree.

"It is a dimension I portalled him to. An inescapable labyrinth I constructed that will keep the criminal in until we return him to Crocus officials."

Natsu just smirked. She seemed extremely legitimate, or at least came across as such. They were clearly foreigners, but from where? Septagram? A crime fighting guild? What did that mean?

He had never heard of that.


	2. TWO

Chapter Two

"What do you mean you've never heard of Septagram?" yelled Levy crossing her arms and glaring at Natsu with astonishment. She could not believe his simplistic ignorance and lack of worldly knowledge.

Natsu merely shrugged it off, taking little to harm.

Next to him and the center of the guild's attention were Lux and Felix who sat at a table within the guild hall of Fairy Tail. It had happened that after meeting the partners, Natsu had invited them back the guild to meet his friends and guild-mates. The two partners responded well, accepting his invitation only to become the shiny new toy at the guild.

Levy just sighed again, "Septagram is the most prominent crime-fighting guilds in the world."

"What is a crime fighting guild, anyway?" asked Lucy, sitting beside Levy at the table, "I have never heard of something like that."

Felix turned to Lucy, making her blush slightly. He was smiling a handsome and genuine smile, almost a goofy grin. "A crime-fighting guild is a guild that specializes in taking on missions for a security or official task. Most of our clients are governments or organizations that require specialty help."

"That was why we were in Magnolia Town," responded Lux pulling a strand of her white hair behind her ear. "When his case ran dry, they hired Septagram to solve the case. We tracked him here and captured him."

"Then they locked him in a labyrinth like Erza does with her armor-" yelled Natsu.

Just then Erza perked up and looked at Lux. "You practice requip?"

"No," said Lux nodding her head, "You cannot requip humans. My portalling ability is part of my takeover magic, Valkyrie Soul."

Everyone stared wide eyed. They had all supposed, wrongly mind you, that her magic was merely portalling. However, it was only the tip of a powerful iceberg to a great ability. Everyone was gathering around now to hear about this dynamic duo that had entered the guild hall, mesmerized by the foreign oddities before them. Intrigued by this gorgeous woman and strikingly handsome man hogging all attention.

"Lux is, hands down, the best mage in Septagram. She is our only S-class member," he said.

Everyone was still in awe. The best of the best, yet still so young.

Lux ended up being a fairly famous mage, at least in the far away territories mainly overseen by Septagram. She was the most reliable and most efficient mage in Septagram as well as their most powerful. A woman who at age seventeen, helped a city overthrow an entire force of invaders who occupied and terrorized the people all for her S-class promotional trial.

They explained how, in Septagram, ranking and entrance is done fairly different. Not just anyone could walk in and join. All members entering must take a rudimentary test on magic skills as well as undergo an interview by high ranking officials. From there they enter D-class and can only become promoted by completing a mission of a higher level or by defeating another member in a formal duel of higher rank. The ranks go D, C, B, A and S; Lux is the only active S-class member.

They also explained that Septagram is more active in their home city of Augusta, a coastal oasis city made from a river delta. To the east are vast deserts, but the port at the delta makes Augusta a valuable and profitable trading point. In those lands, crime is more rampant and takes greater and more persistant forces to keep peace at bay. However, some missions take them to newer places in foreign lands like the one they are on now.

Interestingly, one striking difference both Lux and Felix noticed was the culture of fashion and modesty difference Fiore had for women. Lux felt rather uncomfortable herself coming from a land that dresses with greater conservative ideals. She liked Lucy and her eagerness to talk, but the girl was basically wearing a strapless belly shirt and a loincloth.

Women who wore clothes like that in Augusta would not be safe to walk around unless they were in broad daylight. Yet even that was risky. Things were different in Fiore, not necessarily better or worse, just different.

"What is your magic, Felix?" asked Lucy leaning forward. She had an obvious attachment to him which was evident by her leaning forward and displaying her sizable chest to him. This made Lux mentally roll her eyes even though she and Felix were not an item.

Felix just responded with the same goofy grin and said, "Augmentation. I can increase any aspect of my physical ability for a period of time."

"Increased scent was how we tracked the criminal here," said Lux, arms crossed.

"That is amazing," said Natsu, "You could smell him all the way from Crocus?"

"Yes," said Felix, "Some people have a stronger scent than others. Luckily, however, he was a strong scent."

They all seemed to snicker, at least all the females did. This was how it usually was. Felix was naturally an unconscious and oblivious charmer, one of those gifts and curses certain people had. Lux just found this rather annoying, both his charm and the constant female flirting that followed him.

A little more chatter persisted before Lux and Felix thought it best to be heading to Crocus. It had something to do with the morality of keeping a live human in the labyrinth for long amounts of time that worried her. So, the partners said their farewells and made their way out, knowing they'd always be welcome in Fairy Tail.


	3. Three

CHAPTER THREE

And so the two partners from Septagram were gone. In haste to deliver their captive criminal to Crocus authorities, they seemed to vanish into the afternoon leaving just as swiftly as they arrived.

There was something admirable in the way their conducted their missions. As partners, Lux and Felix seemed to work well in tandem. Team dynamics are not always perfection and one cannot always work efficiently with every partner. And their level of professional attitude was something rather unheard of within Fairy Tail. Their missions were of greater justified importance with more reward to society than to themselves, a commendable way to handle themselves.

All the girls gushed over the handsomeness of Felix, and the guys were enthralled with the tough and distinguished beauty of Lux. Their foreign presence made them a spectacle and object of talk.

At least, for the day.

Unfortunately, what was news today is not always so tomorrow. And, with the usual antics of Fairy Tail, the events of the proceeding day did not remain in the minds of those young mages.

Life goes on.

The next afternoon, Erza who was approached suddenly by Master Makarov with a sheet of paper in hand. There was urgency in his actions as he approached the red-haired mage. She was someone who could be relied on in handling this situation.

"You need to investigate this-" he asked handing her the paper. On it was the name of a town written quickly and sloppily but clearly spelt out the word ARBOR. "I received a message that no one has heard from the town in a few weeks until a caravan came and saw the town was empty. The village is in the north, in a mountain pass."

Erza took in the information slowly, mulling over what she had just been told. It was a peculiar request, Makarov did not usually give a specific mission to someone unless it was of unprecedented importance.

"You should go immediately," he said, straightly and seriously, "I'm sure the village will give you a fine reward if you can solve the issue. But you must go. Take who you need."

Erza stood still before quickly turning on one heel to face the guild. "Natsu, Gray, Lucy, we are going on a mission right now," she yelled with strict determination. She was calling to her regular team for assistance on this mission. Having a team was not always better for reliability, but added a key faction of companionship.

Natsu was first to whine. "Right now?" he moaned from a bar-stool, slumped over in general morning lethargy. This earned him a sharp and silencing glare from Erza, making him recant his expression of laziness.

In a sharp, optimistic contrast, Lucy walked forward, slightly excited but a touch confused with the immediate plan.

"We are going to a village in the north called Arbor. Master wants us to investigate the whereabouts of the villagers," she demanded with her authoritative air, "Meet me at the train station in one hour, alright?"

"Aye, sir."

Erza had no need to collect belongings, so as her fellow teammates went to prepare, she decided to find out exactly what Arbor was. It certainly was an unfamiliar village and likely small and rural.

She made her way to the guild library and opened a map, looking up the location of Arbor. Sure enough, the location became clear. It was situated in a northern peninsula of the large country Iceberg right in a small mountain pass. It would take two trains to reach this village, but it was all possible.

And so, precisely one hour later, the five of them, Erza, Happy, Natsu, Lucy, and Gray made their way onto the train and headed north towards Arbor. It was mainly a cattle train with only two passenger cars, and the whole ride was rickety and uneven.

In the meantime, they tried to come up with theories as to why the people were missing. The village had an active sheppard-based population of about 1,200 people. Each one, apparently, was missing. Perhaps a disease caused them to leave suddenly or perhaps they were kidnapped. But all these theories seemed improbable and they decided to further theorize once in the location.

Complete and instant disappearances like this were incredibly rare.

And so, after several long hours of train travel and many episodes of motion sickness later, they began to see the northern mountains of Iceberg. Snow covered cliffs and glacial valleys covered the visible terrain along with several stunning glacial lakes that reflected the sky and mountains. Some places had open tundra-like fields, while other location were dotted with forests of coniferous trees and shrubs.

By the time they reached the area near Arbor, no one was getting off. It was a scarcely populated area with little importance. The station was nothing more than a platform with only one, though broken, seat. The train arrived only a few miles from Arbor and was in a fine walking distance.

It was early summer, so it was pleasant enough in the valleys to walk comfortably. There was a slight chill, but nothing the bright sun couldn't cure.

They talked and bantered for the short while they walked, joking and enjoying the nice day.

Until they saw the village.

In the distance, amount a small forest of pines and evergreens was the embodiment of a thick grey fog where the village should have been. It was not a natural fog, so it seemed. The gray smoke was more viscous and swirled with lively fluidity among the trees. No buildings could be seen among the thickness of the fog, and they stood in awe, just staring at the spectacle.

"Was there a fire?"

"No, smoke wouldn't act like that-" said Natsu, seeming to know what he was saying.

They did not move for a painstaking long time, just observing from afar until Lucy stepped forward. "Well then let's go. Don't forget why we are here- to find the missing villagers."

"Right," said Gray, walking with them along the path.

"I'll go above the fog and see if I can find any signs of life," said Happy, sprouting his two white wings and taking off towards the sky. The rest walked closer into the village until the fog surrounded them.

At first, they were close enough together to see each other, but the thicker into the fog one got, the harder it was so see each other. Without noticing, they were going in different directions. However, they were professional mages, and could get out of this fog and find each other later.

Natsu was walking on some sort of dirt road, calling out to see of anyone would respond.

Just then, he heard a muffled sound. At first he couldn't tell what it was, but it soon became clear.

It was child crying, the kind of desperate and lost cry a child makes when they feel alone.

Natsu walked toward the sound, towards the child, until they appeared right before him. It was a child only six or so years old, tears streaming down his face, hands rolled into fists, pushing tears away. He had short pink hair and sat cross legged on the ground.

Natsu came forward, kneeling before the child.

"Hey little guy, what's the matter?" he asked placing a hand on his shoulder.

"He left me!" the child sobbed, "And I'm all alone. Why would he leave? Why would he disappear like that?"

"Who? Who left you?" asked Natsu.

"My father, Igneel."


	4. Four

CHAPTER FOUR

"Hello? Hello?" yelled Lucy, hands cupped around her mouth calling out into the fog, "Is anyone there?"

No one was answering her, and it was getting rather frustrating.

She kept walking and calling out, looking for any person among the fog. However, no one was answering her and the fog was deafening. She couldn't see more than a few feet in front of her, and it became a little overwhelming.

Then, out of nowhere, she sees a figure standing before her. All she can make out is the relative shape of a human, possibly a male only about ten feet before her.

"Hello?" she calls to the figure, "Who's there?"

Lucy slowly walked forward, squinting at the figure. Yes, it was definitely a male figure with his hands at his side. And, as she moved forward, she began to recognize the key features of the orange-haired figure standing solemnly amongst the fog.

It was Loke.

It was almost a sigh of relief. He had come to help? Perhaps he had come to keep her company? It did not matter, for she was merely happy he was here at all. She called to him, but he merely looks down in disgust.

It was a foreign gesture to her that made her halt in her tracks. Loke had seen here and looked away with disappointment and disgust, eyes half-lidded with aversion. He went out of his way to come, and then treat her like an untouchable detestation of a person?

"Loke, it's me, Lucy-" she called waving forward.

He repeated the same gesture, looking up, then away in abhorrence and regret. A look like she was worthless or had done him wrong in a way. Almost as if she was an enemy, or someone he was trying to avoid all together. His arms crosses and he turned his back to her.

But then, from behind her came another voice, one she did not exactly recognize at first. She turned to see who it was, but did not immediately understand. It was a woman sobbing in a fancy pink dress with blonde hair up in a neat and pristine bun. She was so young and beautiful, almost a spitting image of herself, but crying nonetheless there before her.

"Hello?" called Lucy walking forward. She hoped this would not be a bootless call as it was for Loke only moments prior. She reached an arm out, to show a sign of friendliness and harmlessness.

And then the woman looked up, and Lucy felt a stab of pain and confusion in her heart from looking onto the face. The face of her mother. Indeed, standing before her was the embodiment of her deceased mother, Layla Heartfilia. She wore what Lucy always remembered her in and was unchanged and unaged in every aspect.

"Mother?" cried Lucy, taking several steps forward. She was hesitant in seeing her mother before her. She felt that this experience was both real and imaginary at the same time; an unimaginable haze within her mind.

Then things turned sour as Layla began to yell at her daughter.

"Lucy? How could you?" she screeched angrily. She spoke it like a mother disowning a child, no love, no warmth. Just disappointment.

"I don't understand-" said Lucy, stopping, a tear forming in her eye that she readily brushed away with the heel of her palm.

But Layla remained infuriated.

"I cannot believe you would do such a thing. I have never been so disappointed."

Lucy was crying even more now, not sure how to perceive what she was just told. She crossed her arms over her abdomen and knelt down to the ground.

"I don't understand. I do not. What have I done?"

Another figure emerged to her left shoulder, standing still and rigid. And as Lucy turned to look up, she recognized the face of her closest friend, Levy. The face of the always kind and intelligent girl she had grown fond of.

"Levy?" said Lucy, "Thank goodness you're he-"

"How could you do that Lucy?" asked Levy in a cold and undermining tone with no emotion beside utter disappointment. She turned her head walking back away from Lucy, angered for some reason. "Why? Why would you betray us?"

"I haven't!" yelled Lucy, crying now in heavy tears, bending over and striking the ground with her fist, "I never betrayed anyone. I have done nothing to harm you! Why are you treating me this way?"

"I have never been so disappointed in a daughter-" spat Layla, looking down at a collapsed and hysterical Lucy, not nothing more than a weeping and distressed figure breaking at the seams. Her arms covering her head as she could not longer take the torment from the people she loved.

Why was this hurting so much? What is this? Why is this?

Now it was Gray who was walking, searching along the path in the fogged village. He, too, was calling out for someone to answer him back. Only so in vain, as no one called back.

"This damn village is creepy," he mumbled to himself, kicking a rock that had fallen in his path.

"Gray?" came a woman's voice, "Gray is that you? Gray!"

Expecting to see a comrade, Gray was mortified when he saw the defeated and wounded Ur standing before him. It was how he had last seen her, one leg missing, close to death from defending the world against Deliora, a demon he released in vain thinking he could defeat to prove his abilities.

He covered his mouth, unsure of what to say. Yet, even though he knew, logically, this was no real event, some surge of emotions kept his mind far from reality. Right now, this felt as real as the ground he stood on.

"Ur," said Gray, "Why are you here?"

"Why would you release Deliora? Why did you murder me?" she cried, desperately and hatefully, pointing at Gray. "You murderer!"

"No, that's wrong-" yelled Gray, "I… I didn't meant to," he yelled, falling to his knees.

"It is your fault I died. You killed me Gray." Ur stood up, walking over to him, "You are a menace and a murderer."

"I am n-"

"Yes you are, Gray. I should have never taken you on a student. Maybe then I'd still be alive and happy if I had just left you alone."

Gray felt as though he were falling. The world around him was becoming darker and darker, and a new depression was seeping into his heart and it hurt more than anything he had ever felt.

Why would she say such things and why did they string so? Why was his biggest regret resurfacing after all these years?

Gray knew he was losing it, he was losing touch with himself and with his composure. In the dark fog, he felt alone and inhumanly guilty.

This was a living nightmare.


	5. Five

CHAPTER FIVE

Erza, walking among the fog, could not help but realize that she was suffering from a throbbing headache. It was an encompassing headache, where you can feel your pulse within your head and it irritates you unlike anything else.

One of those headaches.

She walked around what appeared to by a grassy area, but no buildings of a village seemed to appear. Was there even a village here? A house, a building of any kind?

The fog was so thick, however, it did not seem so strange that she had not seen any buildings. The field of vision was limited to only a few feet in this smoky fog, and it had a cold and bitter feeling to it. Not even the sun could be seen through the fog and the world inside was unbearably and uncomfortably dark and chilling, but, somehow alive.

Erza crossed her arms, rubbing her arm to generate some heat. She was beginning to feel lonely even though she had only been on her own for only a few minutes. In fact, she did not realize she was alone until that very second.

She was just with the others, but then, they seemed to disappear just out of reach when she was not paying attention. But why was she not paying attention? How could they slip away so suddenly without notice or warning?

Now she felt truly alone.

"Natsu? Lucy? Gray?" she yelled into the fog. She yelled again and again, but no one was answering her. Sound seemed to be muffled in this haze, a trapped world with no sight or sounds just-

"Erza?"

Hearing her name, she turned quickly to face where the sound might come from. And, sure enough, there came a figure from the fog. A picture of someone gone, someone no longer with her.

It was Simon.

Simon was a childhood friend from her days as a slave in the tower of heaven. But when the revolt happened, Simon was left behind to continue life as a slave under Jellal. He died when Erza could not protect him several years later. It was one of the most traumatizing experiences of her life.

Erza knew her greatest fear was realizing she could not protect the ones she loved. Yet, at least she knew her fears. Knowing your fears is much better than being faced with them and realizing their existence at the last moment. Yet, even if you realize your fears and sorrows, you are not protected all the same when they appear.

It did not take any words for Erza to realize just what the image of Simon meant.

She had failed to protect him.

The death of a loved one is not something simple. Although we wish we could wipe away the sorrow and anguish, we also wish not to erase the memory of them. Yet keeping those fond memories means holding onto a piece of that sadness as well. Every time we pull that memory for comfort, the sting of losing them remains.

This sting is what Erza felt looking onto the face of this young boy. The innocent, unharmed face that had no darkness in his heart. He did not deserve what happened to him.

And next to him appeared Rob. The old man Erza grew fond of who sacrificed his life to save her. The man who told her of Fairy Tail and gave her a true family.

All the pain of losing those she loved came flooding back. They needn't speak anything, because their message was relayed into her mind silently. All she needed was the image for the floodgates of sorrow to burst and drown her.

But why now? What were these visions she was seeing before her? These people were gone, but why did they appear before her?

Erza shook head and looked down. She was kneeling, feeling the weight of emotions pulling her down. Her hands clutching the dirt and grass beneath her palms, digging her nails in anguish.

This cannot be real, yet it is. It is so real that it is confusing to look upon.

Erza would have fallen into complete despair if something else had not happened. For just as she was about to crumble into insanity, she saw another figure that had no implication in her life.

It was a tall and slender figure, she could tell that. As he came nearer, he saw that he wore simple clothes, black slacks and a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was pale, almost grey in complexion, and his hair was slicked back, eyes red as blood with a slight glow. He seemed neither young nor old. However, the most prominent aspect on this man were the two black-grey wings behind him.

He was not human. This was clear.

The fog seemed to pass around him in grey swirls like water on a hydrophobic surface.

Was he the one doing it? Was he the cause of this bizarre state? Yet as he got closer, something was menacing, something felt uneasy. It was a strong feeling that this was no friend.

"Interesting-" he said in a low and intimidating voice.

Erza looked up and saw that he was holding a weapon, a scythe. And it became very clear in that moment that he was going to kill her.

As the blade came down to an immobilized Erza, another strange thing happened. From the side came a rushing figure in blue and white armor. It seemed to move faster than one could perceive.

It hit the dark man from the side, sending them both flying instantaneously and violently over to the side. It was a well-timed and powerful tackle, a deliberate attack to stop him from murdering her.

Erza couldn't believe her eyes. It was an armored person with long white wings. She could tell no more, as they were moving so fast that little could be done to observe such a figure. All she could see was the class of the blue and silver against the darkness of the other. White against black, a fight of good and evil.

It would appear they were evenly matched, but as the fog surrounded, it became harder and harder to see the fight.

As she went to stand, though, she felt two strong arms pull around her shoulders, and she looked up, alarmed that something physical was there. She was light headed and on the edge of losing control of reality. With her last strength, she looked up into the green eyes of Felix, and let herself fall into unconsciousness.


	6. Six

CHAPTER SIX

The sun was setting over the mountains when Grey woke up. He was the first one.

Immediately he noticed that he was somewhere he did not recognize. It was a wooden building with a stone base rising about four feet like a foundation but was poorly insulated. A draft was present, though not extreme, even in the center where he woke.

It had the rustic appearance and a feel of an abandoned barn but completely void of anything animal related. No hay or stables, but there was a good amount of open space as if it was a house with all the walls missing.

Sitting up, he noticed another thing. Erza, Lucy, and Natsu were laying down next to him on similar cloth blankets. It was a small barrier from the dirty wood floor; not a bed, but a safe place to lie down.

All in that time, memories began flooding him. They were appearing rapidly from what had happened prior to waking up. The memories were paired with bitter emotions and brought in feelings of fear, panic, and discord. He remembered clearly seeing Ur before concluding that he must have lost consciousness in the craziness.

But then how did he end up here?

He looked around to see more of his surroundings. A lantern was hung on the wall and a blazing yet controlled fire was lit in a small yet quaint hearth a few feet away against the wall. It, in fact, did little to drown out the cold due to the dropping temperatures of the setting sun in the tundra.

The cold did not really bother him, actually.

Grey did shiver, though. Not at the temperature, but at the memories he was recalling. It was almost like a dream that you could have sworn was reality. It had all the heightened intensity of emotions to make it seem real, yet logic and rationality got in the way of its essence.

Ur was gone; that logic told him what he experienced could not have been real. Nevertheless, the strong emotions still shook his frame like aftershocks from a massive earthquake.

Deciding to put his experience at bay, he knelt down to Erza to wake her. He gently jostled her shoulder calling for her to wake up.

"You should not do that-"

Gray turned around at the voice to see a figure standing in the door frame. It was clearly the form of a woman though the lighting was too low to see exactly who it was by face, but the silhouette of the gently flipped up hair gave away exactly who their savior was.

"Lux," said Gray standing. He was tongue-tied and unable to form a sentence to say to her. Why of all people to be here was it the foreign girl just in Magnolia? Why the crime-fighting mage? What meaning does she have in this forgotten land? Something was not adding up.

She walked forward, showing that she was eating an apple (clearly not picked from the local area). She pointed to the sleeping Erza and said, "You should not wake them. They need to sleep it off; sleep is good for the soul. They need to properly recover in their own time just as you did."

"Recover?" asked Gray.

"Come," demanded Lux motioning his hand to follow her. She asked again as she walked outside into the darkening dusk. Outside was her companion, Felix, sitting on a tree stump and eating an apple as well. He was sitting rather casually, a stark contrast to the professional duo he met in the guild hall not long ago.

"Wait-" said Gray stopping at the door frame, "Why are you here? Why are we here? Is there something we don't know? What the hell is going on?"

Lux sat on another stump adjacent to Felix and crossed her legs. She sat calmly, just watching the baffling ice-mage find his footing in his mind. She did not say anything, she was waiting for him to calm down.

And he did; Gray took a few deep breaths before thinking to himself and rearranging his thoughts on the matter. He knew it was best not to attack with wild and vague questions. He must ask the right questions to get the full understanding.

"Why were we unconscious?"

Lux sighed. "You suffered from delirium," she said, almost guiltily. "The fog is a magic that makes your worst nightmares into reality. Felix and I have been tracking this occurrence for some time over the past years, rather unsuccessfully. Unfortunately, we find most of the trouble in that people like you and your friends come and wind up trapped and incapacitated once in the fog."

Gray crossed his arms, "People like me and my friends? We were only trying to figure out what happened to the villagers."

Lux and Felix both looked down, almost as if he had hit a nerve. Lux certainly did not mean to sound demeaning, but best intentions and justice often overshadow social etiquette.

"We meant no disrespect," said Felix, kindly, "It is just that, in our time investigating this occurrence, we have realized that fatalities are common once entrapped in the fog."

"You mean the villagers?"

"Anyone trapped for long enough," began Lux standing. She was trying to reason a topic that she herself could not come to grips with. "The fog is insanity, pure dark thoughts, nightmares. If you are entrapped, it slowly eats away at your soul."

There was a moment of silence as Gray took in exactly what they were saying.

Felix threw his apple into the woods and stood to stand beside Lux. Both had their arms crossed almost protectively. They had never had to explain this to anyone, let alone people they just met; someone they may not entirely trust.

"The fact that we were here was pure coincidence," said Felix, suddenly. "We returned the criminal to Crocus then heard the report of the village. We arrived shortly after you did."

"And you saved my friends and I from…" Gray was having difficulty saying what he was trying to say in the moment. But he finally spat out the words. "The same fate as the villagers?"

Lux and Felix looked at each other, then back to Gray, nodding solemnly.

"Then you have my deepest gratitude," he said.

Lux and Felix smiled warmly, exchanging glances. Something told Gray that they just needed kind and gratifying words from all of this. If their story was true, their unsuccessful attempts in saving innocent lives must take a toll on the minds. Their efforts were able to save lives, a success in many ways.

However, as Gray began to think about the situation, something did not seem quite right. And although he knew he may not want to know the answer, he still kept thinking he had no choice but to ask.

"One more thing-" he said.

"Yes?"

"How were you able to rescue all four of us without suffering the effects of the delirium?"


	7. Seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

"I do not think there is a simplistic way of saying this," said Lux. She was sitting on the floor in a circle with Lucy, Erza, Natsu, and Gray. Felix was also beside her, just as uneasy with the whole situation. The fire was flickering warmly behind her, backlighting her face and hiding her emotions.

Erza had woken up shortly after Gray, followed by Natsu then Lucy. Felix and Lux told each one where they were and that it was they who had saved them from the fog. However, the question still remained: how were Lux and Felix were unaffected by the delirium of the fog.

"There is hardly a simplistic way of saying anything," responded Lucy. She was eying Felix, though, which made Natsu scoff at her flirtatious actions. What was so great about Felix anyway?

Lux just looked at Felix as if he would know what to do in this situation. They had never been confronted about something like this before and did not know how to word their situation.

Erza had described upon waking what she had seen prior to her lapse into unconsciousness. She described the man she saw and the other figure in the blue and silver armor fighting. She assumed now that it must have been Lux.

She had mentioned before that her real magic was a takeover, her soul being that of a Valkyrie. A Valkyrie being a female warrior deity is the person who chooses who wins and dies in battle. Her appearance before with white wings and full armor only added to the theory.

Lux confirmed that she was indeed the female warrior fighting the other man. Yet that was all the information she divulged. Now they sit here trying to get Lux and Felix to relay the whole story. Who was the man and what was that fog?

"I do not think we have a choice, Felix," said Lux suddenly, "They deserve an explanation."

"If you think that is best, I will support your decision."

Lux sighed, resting her chin on her palm. "Alright. Maybe it will be better if someone else knew for once," she said. She took a deep breath as the room quieted. Everyone listened intently as Lux began to explain everything.

"The man you saw, the one in the dark clothes I was fighting. His name is Amaliel. He is a demon that was created by Zeref many years ago. In fact, as far as I know, there are many like him out there, however, we do not know where. However, they were created and exist as stone statues until awakened. He is the only one living, and we intend to keep it that way."

"He is a demon?" said Erza.

"Yes," she said, "A demon known as a Fallen Angel." She had lost a relative part to her tone that always sounded professional and regal. She almost sounded hesitant and nervous while speaking, something completely contrary to the Lux they met in Magnolia. She was hunched over slightly, almost trying to become smaller than she was. Perhaps if she tried harder, she would disappear.

She looked at Felix, asking him silently to continue for her. He smiled, showing he understood.

"Amaliel is a demon who preys off of people's nightmares. The fog is his main magic and causes those trapped to manifest their fears. The fears eat away at their well being, their mind, and their soul until they no longer exist."

"It's unbelievable-" said Natsu, "Why would such a magic exist?"

"His sole purpose is to cause pain and suffering?" said Gray.

"Yes," said Felix, "And for years we have tracked his whereabouts looking for anyway to stop him."

There was a moment of silence, and they could hear the wind blowing outside the building. Besides that and the crackle of fire, the night was relatively calm.

"So, then, you still haven't explained why the fog does not affect you."

Both sighed and looked at each other this time, both were uneasy about that question.

"Should we-?"

"Yes, we should tell them that too," said Lux, reassuringly. She turned back to the other four, and kept a very straight face. "I am not affected because… Amaliel… is my father."

There was a deafening silence, more so than before. Such information could not be processed as quickly. Each had a different expression of mixed fear, awe, confusion, and disbelief.

"You are half demon?" said Lucy, trying to grip exactly what she had just heard.

"Yes," said Lux, softly. Something felt good about letting other people know her situation. "He raised me until I ran away and joined Septagram. My home was not far from here, up in the mountains. When I ran away, I went as far as possible and it ended up being that the guild master of Septagram took me in. Felix and I have been investigating the fog for something like three years now, but he is too powerful and we get no success against him."

The atmosphere was still unusually uneasy. Although Lux had told the truth, it was not entirely easy to grasp. It was like being told a secret and not being willing to accept it. You wanted to hear it, but perhaps now you do not.

"What… what about Felix?" said Erza, "You two aren't siblings, are you?"

"No," said Felix, laughing slightly in amusement, "We are unrelated. The only reason I am immune, is because Lux trained me in overcoming fear so the fog has no affect on me."

That lit the room back up. There was hope in their actions, and finally it was making sense to them. The last piece to the confusion had been ever so clarified.

"You can train people to overcome fear?" said Erza.

Lux nodded, "Unfortunately, I can also manifest nightmares, something I inherited, I suppose. The first time Felix experienced the fog, we realized that maybe overcoming the objective of our greatest fears may be the way to fight it. So, I manifested his nightmares within the labyrinth and he learned to deter delirium from reality."

"That sounds awesome," breathed Natsu, "Would you be willing to teach us?"

Felix laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "It is a rather long and less than enjoyable process. You have experienced the nightmares already, are you sure you would willingly want to face them again?"

Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Erza all shared a glance at each other, to make sure they were on the same page. They nodded in silent agreement.

"We want to help you," said Gray. "We would be grateful if you taught us this skill, perhaps then we'll overcome Amaliel."

"Perhaps," responded Lux, ever so quietly.


	8. Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

The night grew on and they all decided to retire for the night. Although just waking up, the darkness of night brought the sensation of drowsiness and sleep with it.

Before going to bed, Lux and Felix retreat outside for a moment. Mostly at Felix's demand, pulling Lux by the arm once everyone looked like they were asleep. Felix was strong naturally, but Lux was not necessarily protesting either.

"Lux," he said, quietly, once they were outside. It was colder than before, but neither seemed to mind. It was cold in their homeland at night too, so it never truly bothered them. "Do I have to say it?"

Lux folds her arms, leaning against the side of the building. "No, you do not."

"Come on, are you seriously considering putting them through that?" he said, "You know how it worked with me, but that took months. We do not even know if they can handle their fears in the slightest. Lux, we barely even know their names."

"Well what do you want me to do?" she said, in an angered whisper, "Continue on like we have been doing for the past three years. Felix, we have made no progress. Alone, we are nothing against him."

"Maybe if we had more time-"

"What time, Felix?" she said, "More time for people to die? For us to fail? We do not have time to waste. I cannot stand the failure, we will never be strong enough on our own."

"But you are-"

"I am nothing compared to him. I am only half, and I lose every time."

Felix just looks down at his feet, unsure of what to say. They have had this argument before about their failure. Lux, herself, is an extremely powerful mage. Felix is also rather powerful themselves, but they realize that they cannot go it alone. Yet asking for help was the thing they argued upon the most.

Felix had immense faith in Lux, seeing her succeed as an S-class mage back home. It almost made her look invincible in a way. Then, when confronted with this threat, the all-powerful Lux was merely a novice.

"Is it because you do not want to kill him?" said Felix, suddenly. This was another topic he had brought up from time to time. Felix theorized that perhaps Lux was not giving it her all because she was weary to fight against her own father.

She scoffed. "Do not say that," she snapped. "I have told you before, I would kill him in a heartbeat. What he did to those people… what he did to me… is unforgivable."

Felix looked back to her, but she was not making eye contact. She was staring off into the distance in contemplation.

"I… just need help…" she said.

Felix sighed, nodding slightly. "I understand, then." He turned to walk back inside, "Well, I am going to sleep, goodnight Lux."

She smiled, following him back inside. Once inside, she throws another log onto the fire and makes her way to her own mat. They are all sleeping on the same cloth-type rugs, and Lux's is next to Felix's. As long time friends and partners, they are used to sleeping together anyway. They sleep with their backs away from each other.

Lux is also right next to Lucy, who is sound asleep right now. She had placed another rag over her, because she was still wearing rather inappropriate clothes anyway. However, Lux swerved away from judging people from their cultural norms of fashion. She had been so many places before that these idiosyncrasies were becoming more and more acceptable in Lux's eyes.

Just perhaps, not back at home.

"Lux? Lux? Luxy?"

The last word made Lux snap into attention. Luxy. She had never been called that before. It sounded incredibly playful, not something Lux necessarily enjoyed.

"Please do not call me that," said Lux in a scratchy I-just-woke-up voice. She did not mean to say it harshly, but she did not even know who she was talking to. She thought it was Felix, picking on her, but when she opened her eyes, it was Lucy she was looking at.

"Sorry," she whispered.

Lux sat up, yawning. It was still the dead of night, and Lucy had woke her up very strangely. Lux was never really a heavy sleeper herself, but she still did not enjoy being woken up in the middle of the night.

"Is something wrong," said Lux, coming to a sitting position, legs crossed, whispering lightly.

"No," she said, fidgeting with the ends of her hair, "I just wanted to ask you something, kind of personal."

That sounded funny to Lux. There were, of course, other women in the guild she came from, however, none really asked her any personal questions girl-to-girl. She was never one to come across as the "big sister" figure, and Lux was usually preoccupied with missions or training to spend time with other girls. Lux came across somewhat distant from other people her age on a personal and human level. This, of course, made sense since she was, in fact, not entirely human. Yet, she was asked plenty of questions when it came to fighting or strategy, but never a personal question.

"Sure," said Lux, trying not to act like this was strange, which it was. She did not even know Lucy that well to think she could answer her question.

"Are you and Felix… you know… a couple?"

Lux just stood blankly at Lucy. This was what this girl was going to ask? It was only strange because people had, in fact, asked her this before. It was not all that uncommon, a handsome man like Felix partnered with Lux; girls often wondered what the true relationship was.

There was no actual answer to that question, however. Lux had devised a perfect answer for someone that asked though.

"Maybe we are, maybe we are not," said Lux, "No, in the way that we are not boyfriend and girlfriend. Yes in that way that we are more than friends. Honestly, we act more like awkward siblings and fight like a married couple."

"Oh-"

Lux laughed a little to herself, "Do not be discouraged though. Besides, Felix is not the best guy to be in a relationship with anyway. He flirts a lot and attracts attention from women wherever we go." She leaned a little closer to Lucy, "But I can say this: look closer around you. I am sure you can find someone just in this very room, among your very friends that cares deeply for you."

Lux was explicitly mentioning Natsu who was snoring like a bear near the fire. She had seen the way he looks at her, and could not deny his interests in her.

She sighed, understanding her meaning. They sat there for a few minutes, just in an awkward silence until Lucy was first to speak again.

"What is his story?" she asked, "We know about your history, but what about Felix?"

Lux smiled warmly. This one she could answer. Felix had been her friend for the longest time, they knew everything about one another.

"Felix was born and raised in Augusta, the city we live in. His father, actually, is the police chief of the city and his mother is the daughter of a wealthy trade tycoon. He has three brothers, two older ones, and a fraternal twin brother."

Lux looked behind her, sensing that Felix was still asleep before continuing. She did not really want him to wake up hearing two girls talking about his past.

"Felix always lived his life in the shadow of his older brothers who were immensely successful. His oldest brother, Marcus, followed in his father's footsteps and entered law enforcement. And his other brother, Demetrius, entered the business side with his mother's father and will probably inherit the company when he passes. Felix always wanted to show that he was capable, so when he showed signs of magical talent, he joined Septagram in hopes of meeting their expectations."

"Was that his nightmare?" asked Lucy, solemnly.

Lux nods in response, "Yes, it is. He always feared not living up to his parent's expectations. That was what happened to his other brother, his fraternal twin brother, Simon. He dropped out and immersed himself with underworld intelligence, or at least that was how it was last time we saw him. I do not think he could bear the stress of being eclipsed."

They sat there for a few moments, just quietly as before. Lucy was thinking about what Lux had just said. What a horrible existence, to have to fight your siblings to meet strict expectations. Felix only wanted to show that he was just as capable, just as viable as his brothers.

Lucy and Lux kept talking for a while. Lucy told Lux about her own past for a while until they felt like they understood a bit about each other. And, when they returned to sleep, a new found peace had emerged between the two girls. An unspoken pact of kindness.


	9. Nine

CHAPTER NINE

"Good morning," yelled Lux, "Breakfast is ready!"

Lucy, Erza, Happy, and Natsu all opened their eyes simultaneously to see that it was now morning outside. They all sit up, feeling that it must be extraordinarily early (which it wasn't, they were just late sleepers.)

Felix and Lux were already up, Felix holds two plates with food on them and hands them to Natsu and Erza while Lux hands the other two to Lucy and Gray. The food is strange looking, something they are not entirely used to. According to Felix, the dish is a usual Augustan breakfast that they eat on a regular basis. Lux explains it is a dish made of beans with tomatoes, eggs, watercress, arugula, cucumbers, carrots, and sheep-milk cheeses. Also on the plate is a bran-rich bread and a cup of hot black tea with a piece of mint floating on top.

"Um," started Lucy, "How did you find the ingredients for this around here?"

Lux laughed, sitting with Felix and their own plate. "It's not from here," she said, "I teleported myself back to Augusta and made this. It is a cultural breakfast for us, and it is quite good, if I do say so myself."

"I forgot you could teleport-" said Natsu sipping the hot tea and enjoying its strong taste and scalding temperature.

"Of course. How else would we have gotten all four of you out of the fog? Drag you?" said Felix laughing at the mental image of dragging four unconscious bodies. He ate some of his meal happily without hesitation. Everyone else was a little sketchy on the foreign food they were eating. He laughed more audibly at their reactions. "Eat it, I promise, it is delicious. Lux is a rather good cook."

They ate tentatively. But, once eating the foreign, Augustan food, they realized that it was actually quite appealing. Lux watched them eat from the corner of her golden eyes and felt somewhat relieved that she could provide for those who was not an Augustan. She felt more capable, and it was making her morning even better.

Lux sipped the tea before placing it down by her foot and crossed legs. Lux was acting like her natural self again, calm and stately, professional and composed. It was comforting to see that she was back to normal for everyone in the room, they would need the strong will and composure of Lux in order to accomplish their mission.

Suddenly, the ambiance became very sober as it was now the dreadfully anticipated time to talk more about the task at hand.

"The first aspect of getting over your fears is understanding your fears," said Lux, "That is the only way to vanquish them and to realize what is reality and what is a nightmare. Why not start by saying what you saw in the fog?"

Everyone looked down, trying to avoid the question, eating their food. But Felix and Lux knew their reaction quite well and looked at each other in shared understanding.

"There is your first problem," said Felix, "If you will not muster courage to say your fears, how can you expect to overcome them? Be brave." They sat listening for someone to speak up, but no one did still. "Alright then, I'll go first," he said. "When I first experienced the fog, I saw my father, who is the police chief in Augusta. He was standing with my two older brothers, talking about me and how I never surmount to anything. Another time it was the master of our guild, Tertius, who was scolding me and demoting me for never accomplishing anything worth the guild's recognition."

"That's terrible-" said Erza.

Felix sighed softly. "Perhaps," he responded, crossing his arms after taking another sip of tea. "But it ended up showing me what my true weakness was, disappointing others."

"I saw myself," said Natsu suddenly, still looking down. He said it quietly, something very different from his usual upbeat and spastic attitude. Everyone was looking to him to continue. However Natsu just continued to greedily eat his food, choosing his words carefully. Another rare trait. "I was very young and I was crying because Igneel left."

A pause.

"Who, might I ask, is Igneel?" asked Lux in the gentlest way she possibly could.

Natsu was trying to stay strong, but emotions were flooding back to him of what he saw in the fog. It brought back the feeling he himself experienced as a child, suddenly left alone.

"My father. He was a dragon that raised me."

"How interesting," said Felix, "A dragon raised you? But then left you?"

"Yes, many years ago. Then I joined Fairy Tail and they became my new family. However, there is still something about being abandoned that still haunts me." He looked down shaking his head, as if avoiding what he was really trying to say.

"That is a good place to start. From what you say, it sounds like your fear is abandonment," said Lux, placing a hand on Natsu's shoulder. She smiled warmly at Natsu and it felt quite comforting. It was something about having someone as complacent as Lux consoling you that caused a feeling of tranquility to wash over. Perhaps everything will be alright, at least, just right now.

Due to Natsu's bravery, they all began to open up about their fears one after another throughout the breakfast. Erza describes seeing those she was unable to protect, and Lucy explains how she saw her mother and Leo look upon her with disgust and hatred, and Gray explained her situation with seeing Ur.

Although it is incredibly emotional, there is something therapeutic about talking about the experience; a way to release the emotions that would have been naturally locked inside. Sometimes, if we keep negative emotions within ourselves, they morph into something much worse than can overtime wreak havoc on our well beings. It is best to talk about them, let them fade in severity with the comfort of others.

They went on like that, eating their breakfast. They talked in playful banter about their lives, their pasts, their presents. All give a deeper understanding between the new found accomplices. A new bond was being formed between them, all the more great the adventure.

As breakfast finished, Lux collected the dishes and demonstrated her teleportation abilities. Felix looked on with mock amusement as Lux created a small portal just her size into the warm Augustan air of her small apartment.

You could almost feel the heat from the Oasis coming forth through the portal and hear the sounds from the streets echoing through an open window in her loft-style apartment.

As she stepped through, it faded instantly, leaving everything exactly as it was. One moment she was there, the next she walked through to another country. Felix just smiled, having seen and experienced this event thousands of times.

"Felix?" asked Natsu, "I have a question about Lux."

Felix turned to the pink-haired boy standing beside him. Natsu had a look of passion and eagerness in his voice, a spark that was never extinguished as was his personality.

"What is it?" asked Felix, showing that same goofy grin.

"Is Lux powerful? Is she a good fighter?"

"The best we have," said Felix, still smiling.

Just then, Lux reappeared out of nowhere with the plates gone. She was looking at Felix and Natsu who were talking with a confused look on her face.

"Lux!" said Natsu, "Can I ask you a favor?"

"It depends," she replied, crossing her arms, "But let us hear it."

"Fight me."


	10. Ten

CHAPTER TEN

"You are an idiot-" said Felix, laughing at Natsu. Felix then looks back at Lux, hoping to see that she'd deny such a request. He was shocked to see that she was actually considering something taking him on. "Aw, come on Lux, are you seriously going to fight this kid?"

Lux laughs a little, "Maybe," she said waving away Felix from worry. "I do want to see what a Fairy Tail Mage is about. Maybe I am just greedy?" She shrugs and nods at Natsu to show that she is, in fact, up for a brawl.

"Awesome. You and me, let's go outside and see who really is the most powerful mage," yells Natsu running outside like an over eager child full of natural zeal.

Lux just smiles and follows him outside. The others follow to, interested in what was about to happen. Lux and Natsu go out into the open tundra area near the barn and face each other, bowing out of common courtesy. Natsu has an excited grin, but Lux remains completely calm and composed, as always.

"I have to warn you," said Lux, putting a strand of hair behind her ear, "Since you requested a duel with me, we will do it on Septagram terms, which is why I will accept to fight you. Firstly, in Septagram, you can demand a match with a higher ranked member to take their spot, two people, one-on-one, until the other is defeated. Secondly, you can do whatever you need to do to beat this person, in order to show your strength. And Thirdly, you accept the consequences of the outcome. Do you accept the terms?"

"Hell yes," said Natsu, cracking his knuckles against his palm. They seemed rather fair to a confident person like Natsu. He actually did not care for formalities, he just purely enjoyed fighting.

Lux just smiled again before the wind started to blow around her in a circular motion. A magic circle appeared beneath her, and a bright light began to shine. All but Felix looked away for he was used to her transformation into her battle form, Valkyrie Soul.

It was indeed an impressive transformation. She now stood before Natsu fully armored in the similar blue and silver-lined colors that Erza had witnessed before. In truth, looking on, Erza admired the beauty and style of this woman's armor.

She wore a helmet that framed her face with accentuated feathers on the side pointing up, almost like wings. Her armor consisted of a chest piece and shoulder pieces, arm guards, and sturdy plated boots. A cream colored cloth with blue lining and two opposing thigh high slits reached down to her knees, covering her mid region. Her eyes were even brighter than before, and there was a new look of power in her that went along with the armor. Two broad angle-like wings stretched out behind her as the most impressive aspect of her transformation.

"Alright then, let's go," yelled Natsu, preparing himself to attack. Crouching, he eyes his target ready to pounce at her and win this match easily. Impressive Armor, of course, did not win a match; skill does. He runs toward her yelling incoherently in a Fire Dragon Iron Fist move, fist ablaze and face vicious to win.

But just as he is about to land the first blow, Lux disappears, catching Natsu off balance. He foolishly forgot again about her teleportation.

Then, Lux all of a sudden appears right behind him, grabbing him by his back arm and yanking him back over her head and onto the ground in one swift movement. She was so strong and did this so effortlessly.

But Natsu is also keenly fast and quickly rolls to the side to stand up again. Now he is prepared, now he knows her style. Evade then assault.

He prepares for Fire Dragon's Roar breathing in heavily and placing his two fists before his mouth to blow the flames out from. And then a brilliant blast of flame emerges heading toward Lux with amazing speed and power.

But just as it reaches Lux, she raises one hand and a translucent white wall appears before her. Shield. It completely disperses the flames like rushing waves against a sea wall. The flames go in every direction except towards Lux.

She had blocked it with absolutely no effort. No flinch, no lack of power, no fear at all were present in that woman's gaze.

"My turn-" she said with a touch, just a touch, of sadism. She pointed her index finger toward Natsu, enacting a Death Mark on him. This would greatly reduce his skills in battle, making his overall odds of winning unfavorable.

Unaware of exactly what Lux had done, Natsu readies himself with the next step of intensity. He came at her charging, fists ablaze and ready to strike. Yet, just as he was about to approach, he fell flat on his face.

Natsu was surprised to say the least. He was never this uncoordinated in fighting, how could something so simple as running cause him to err?

"What did you do to me?" he yelled, realizing the stroke of bad fate must have been Lux's doings.

"Turned your chances of falling higher, your chances of missing higher. Anything that may help you win this battle by chance are all working against you," she said, getting ready for her next final move. Smite.

Check mate.

Lux rushes forward faster than Natsu can respond and attacks from her outstretched fingers a bright light that smites Natsu with a perfectly on spot hit. The smite sends Natsu back with such force and light that he completely falls defeated from her attack. He is utterly and completely destroyed and defeated by that one attack with no chance of evading it. Lux stands triumphantly before walking over to Natsu.

There is a bright scar-like remnant of the smite across his chest from his neck diagonal to his waste, and he looks awfully beat up. He lays unconscious in the dirt in a small crater his impact created.

"Natsu!" yells Lucy, running forward to him. She is enraged and panicking that he might be seriously injured. From where she was, the outcome looked too drastic. "Why the hell would you attack him so brutally, you demon?" yelled Lucy.

Although that term made her flinch a little, Lux just knelt down by Natsu's side, placing her hands on his chest and closed her eyes. Felix, understanding what she is doing, pulls away the hysterical Lucy and shocked Gray and Erza, speechless as well this whole time.

As Lux's rests her hands on him, Natsu's body begins to heal itself rapidly. Cuts close and the glowing mark of the smite fades just as quickly. In only a minute's time, Natsu is completely back to normal and beginning to wake up. As he does, Lux transforms back into her usual self, still kneeling at his side and helps him sit up.

"What did you do?" said Erza, quietly and completely in shock from the aftermath.

"I healed him," she said, still looking at Natsu with apologetic eyes. Perhaps she did go overboard, but she accepted the consequences of her victory and used her power, as always, to heal the person that challenged her. "I told you, I'm only half demon, I can heal just as well as I can destroy. I am two halves of two different worlds," she said turning to the waking Natsu, "Do you feel alright?"

Natsu's eyes opened to see everyone around him.

"I'm great," he said, quietly before his eyes shot open with the same sparky personality they all knew and loved. "But you, Lux, you're fucking awesome."

Lux laughed along with him and everyone else in that moment.


	11. Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The labyrinth is an alternate dimension created by Lux as a way to store things, imprison criminals, and even venture within when she wants to be alone. It takes the appearance of a three dimensional cube suspended in an abyss of eternal night dotted with stars and cosmos.

It was an interesting kind of beautiful, Felix explained, having been in there several times before.

The labyrinth itself was a gravity-complex cube with an unknown number of combinations and rooms, passages and routes that could be changed at the architects will. Even Lux does not know the complete layout of the labyrinth, but she can change the layout and properties at her will and leave and enter will no effort. This is what makes the labyrinth effective, since there is no way in and out, just endless permeations of pathways.

According to Lux, keeping humans in the labyrinth is much more taxing than keeping objects or just herself within it. Accordingly, the more humans within the labyrinth, the harder it is to maintain since its existence runs solely on Lux's magical abilities. However, due to her magical stamina, Lux can keep someone in the labyrinth with little effort for days at a time.

"I can only manifest nightmares in the labyrinth where I control its setting. I will place you within the labyrinth, and Felix and I will counsel you through the hallucinations as it happens. If anything goes wrong, we will remove you immediately."

They all nod in agreement, understanding the process they will undergo. There is still uneasiness in the air, as each one was extremely nervous about undergoing the process. Physical pain heals, but mental pain can last forever.

"Alright then, Erza will be first," said Lux, and the three stood up. Erza was acting the most brave in that moment, though she quaked with fear inside.

Before them, a magical circle appears and then an archway to the labyrinth. Lux kindly motions for her to walk through which she does. Lux and Felix follow before the portal seals shut.

Erza is immediately taken back by where she is. Looking up, she sees the night sky and gorgeous arrangement of stars casting a glow on the white labyrinth. The labyrinth itself is made of ten foot white walls and floors, doors, hallways, and strange passages all entirely in the same white color. There are openings that go deeper into the cube-shaped labyrinth and hallways going across the surface.

It was mesmerizing.

"Alright!" yelled Lux, who was standing on a white platform hovering above the labyrinth, "It will begin, feel free to move about wherever you need to go. We will keep an eye on you the whole time."

Erza looked up at the two partners standing like game makers, intimidating in a way. Erza kept a brave face the whole time, but Lux and Erza know she was petrified.

"Just remember," said Felix, "You are Erza, and you know what is true."

Erza nodded before turning and walking, first slowly, then with a little more self confidence. She found an entrance into the internal maze and decided to enter it, straight down into a small ten-by-ten room with six different pathways. Strangely, once inside the internal room, it was just as bright as the outside. It was almost like the walls were letting off light and keeping it in a futuristic tone of endless white.

All the while, Erza was amazed that Lux had created such a world. In a way, it was almost a dream land.

Erza kept walking, feeling the headache come on again. She leaned against the wall and placed her fingers on her temple.

"My head hurts-" she began to say, feeling the pulse and throbbing in her head.

"Alright," said Lux, and when Erza turned around, she was surprised to see that she was still alone. Yet she could hear Lux's voice so clearly. Where was it coming from?

"You are sensing the change in reality. Use that, Erza," came Felix's voice.

Erza just nodded and kept walking, concentrating on her headache and how it shifted when she changed rooms. So far, she was doing quite well.

However, Lux and Felix could tell that Erza was beginning to feel the side effects of delirium. Lux was inflicting delirium on Erza straight through her soul, and ability associated with the Valkyrie Soul. However, Lux can only control one soul at a time, unlike her father who had no limit.

"Erza," came Felix's voice, "Remind yourself who you are. It will help."

Erza stopped moving and leaned against the wall, gripping her arm. She was trying to terribly hard not to lose herself. "My name is Erza, and I control reality."

"Good," said Lux, "Keep going."

Erza kept walking, but could tell that her vision was getting hazy and she was having difficulties staying upright.

Then, from nowhere, she heard the sound of a gunshot and saw before her, in another room, a child fall. She had never seen him before in her life but she felt her heart shatter when she saw him fall. He was shot in the head and another man was standing there with the gun.

And then, Erza completely lost her connection to reality. In an instant, she had transformed into armor, purgatory armor, in order to confront this murderer. She was enraged that someone had done that to a child, and she was not able to stop it. That was what was most frightening, not being able to save his life.

"Erza!" came Lux and Felix's voice. Just as Erza was about to attack the murderer, Felix had grabbed Erza and held her arms behind her back as she yelled.

"He killed the child! Let me go, I need to do something, I must have done something. Why?" she yelled in a furious rage. She tried to pull her arms from Felix's grasp, but he was too strong, inhumanly strong. He must have augmented his strength to keep an armored Erza at bay.

"Erza, snap out of it," said Lux, holding Erza's face, "That was a nightmare," she yelled.

Erza just snapped then, and let her defenses go. Her head was low for a moment before she looked up into Lux's golden eyes.

"I'm alright," said Erza, "Maybe. I just… don't feel alright. I feel like I might faint."

"That is okay," said Lux. Instantly, another portal opened and Lux walked through followed by Felix, and set Erza on the ground to sit. They were no longer in the labyrinth, just the inside of the barn, the comforting environment.

Natsu, Gray, and Lucy were there instantly to help.

"Is she okay?" asked Gray.

"She will be fine," said Felix, letting go of Erza and standing.

"But she did not respond well," interjected Lux. "Unfortunately, she failed her first trial."


	12. Twelve

The same results were exhibited with Lucy, Natsu, and Grey in that order. Each one the same failure as before, with Natsu lasting the longest, but by a small amount.

In Natsu's experience within the labyrinth, he managed to last twice as long before hallucinating and seeing the empty guild hall. It was almost as if he was the last person in the city or in the guild, alone and abandoned by everyone he loved. In the end, he was restrained and removed from the test just like all the others.

That night at dinner, Felix explained to a disheartened group, that failure was a natural occurrence with this practice. Lux had retrieved a hearty lentil soup for dinner from a tavern across from her apartment in Augusta where she and Felix often ate their meals. She also retrieved a type of barley beer as well as a loaf of wheat bread for the meal.

"I think I am beginning to like your cuisine," said Natsu drinking some of the beer. He was as always eating the food as if he hadn't eaten in the past month.

"I am happy to hear," said Lux, eating another spoonful of her soup, "Sometimes we need a little comfort food, especially after what you went through today. I apologize again for this."

"Don't feel like you have to apologize," said Gray looking over at Lux, "If anything, you're helping us uncover something about ourselves and our weaknesses."

They all seemed to agree with those words, and continued to eat their food in a peaceful quiet.

"So, Lux," said Erza, placing her bowl down and drinking another sip of the slightly potent beer. "You said before that you are an S-class member of your guild?"

"Yes, I am," she responded, wondering exactly where this was headed.

"You mentioned the first time we met you that the requirements to pass into a new ranking was to complete singlehandedly a mission of that higher rank. Out of curiosity, what was your mission?"

There was a moment where Lux collected her thoughts, but Felix, all of a sudden, cut into the conversation suddenly.

"It is an amazing story," he said, almost gushing. Although Felix had his own great need for attention, he was often the one glorifying Lux, much to her horror. Perhaps he felt a twinge of confidence in the 'my-partner-is-oh-so-awesome' and therefore 'I-am-oh-so-awesome-as-well' complex. However, this conversation is taboo between the two partners.

Lux just looked over to him with slight irritation, but mostly a lack of emotion. She was warning him with her gaze. However, Felix ignored her glares.

"Lux liberated a whole city from an occupation," he said, taking full reigns at story telling. This part didn't really bother Lux, since he knew the story just as well as she. "The trials are not formal in Septagram, instead, you can apply for promotion whenever you wish as long as the master agrees."

"Sometimes, though," added Lux, "Master Tertius will approach you and ask you to try for promotion if he thinks you are ready. So, one summer, he suggested I try an S-class mission.

"A small city-state had requested for someone to help in the liberation of their city from a tyrannical occupation of a neighboring county. Not wanting to decline the suggestion, I took the request."

"How the hell did you liberate a whole city?" said Gray, "No offense, but that seems a little much for a one-person job."

"S-Class means more in Septagram," said Felix, "That level, that skill is exactly what is implied in the position."

Lux did not respond this. She merely kept on with the story.

"I went to the city, and they already had a small resistance set up. However, they made no progress in the time the request was sent and when I decided to take it. That is a total of three years under the rule of the occupying country.

"The city was mainly controlled by a port and their trade was done almost entirely by sea route. Likewise, the occupying country was also a seafaring and naval city, but I also learned that they were very superstitious. They mainly worshipped a sea goddess that they would pray to before sea voyages in hope of safe travel.

"The resistance and I began a plan to trick the invaders into returning home. It was done in two parts, the first one being deceit.

"One of my abilities is a magic that lets me 'touch' the soul of someone. Through this, I can heal, reduce your luck, cause pain or anxiety, calm, or inflect delirium. However, delirium I found can come in two forms. One, being mind-manifested and subjective to their own fears; another, being one I can control.

"I would come at night to the invaders and inflict delirium on them while they sleep of their loved goddess coming and telling them that a disease was coming to the city and that they should leave immediately in order to save their lives. It took a few days, but I finally got the occupying people to start speculating.

"By then, the natives and I had gotten almost every citizen into the resistance and we began the second part. They began to act sick and exhibited disease-like symptoms. It was all to creative on their part, and the invaders packed up almost instantly and left."

Lux took a sip of her beer, signifying that the majority of the story was over.

"And they never returned?"

Lux nodded. "They tried several times. However, I could stop them from reentering easily by attacking their ships. I hate bloodshed, which was why I never attacked offensively in the first place. If I did that, they may have hurt the native people thinking they were rising up. Whenever they see a threat, I am contacted, and I come back to defend the city. And for the past three years, the city has prospered again."

Erza, Lucy, Natsu, and Gray were amazed and sitting with gaped and sour expressions of half awe and half disbelief or confusion. This was no ordinary S-class trial in Fairy Tail. This is not something an average human could do, although, given that Lux was not entirely human.

"They even celebrate-"

"Do not say it Felix," snapped Lux, warning him again.

But he went along anyway and shouted out, "Lux Day."

Lux looked down in embarrassment, a new kind of emotion that they had not seen her express. In fact, they were all beginning to wonder if Lux could even experience timidity or embarrassment in anyway.

"They named a holiday after you?" said Natsu, "That is fucking awesome."

Lux continued to turn beet red all the way to the tips of her ears, which were even visible through her snowy white hair. This was clearly not a topic that the unmovable Lux was used to conversing about. She was more humble than Felix was.

"No, it is an independence day," said Lux, weakly.

"Oh, please," said Felix shoving Lux playfully, then turning to the other four, "It is a holiday hosted in her honor and she is invited and goes every year. I went last year for the first time only after begging for the other two. But I must say, the best part of the whole experience is seeing just how grateful they are to her for freeing them."

Lux was still blushing.

"So," began Felix again, "She came back to the guild about three weeks later and presented her achievement to the guild. It was the greatest day at the guild I have ever experienced. Since we have other ambitious A-class members, you can imagine just how amazed and jealous they were of Lux's accomplishment. These other members constantly try to get promoted to S-class, but only Lux had succeeded. The only one to have done so in 30 years."

"The last S-class was our master Tertius," said Lux suddenly, throwing in the information. She stood up, collecting plates from everyone. She clearly wanted to head away for a while and escape the intense discomfiture in the room.

Once gone, everyone headed to bed. All the while, they were thinking almost exclusively about Lux and what she had done.

This woman was unlike anyone they had ever known. She was so young yet so accomplished in many ways. How was she like this? What makes a person like this, someone so good and respectable?

How could she be the spawn of someone so evil?


	13. Thirteen

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"Are you alright?" whispered Felix to Lux, turning around to face her. He senses even in the early morning hours that she was not alright. Lux often had difficulties falling asleep if something was on her mind.

Her golden eyes were open but glossy in a way showing that she was, indeed, exhausted. But she nodded to Felix's question, laying on her side facing him as well.

"I was thinking about what Erza said when she first woke up, about seeing Amaliel," she said, he head resting on her forearm out in front of her. Her face is very serious and deep in contemplation.

Everyone else around was sleeping, exhausted from the day and enjoying a nice food coma. The slight sound of someone's snoring was filling the air as the two partners whispered.

Felix nodded, coming up onto his forearm, looking down to Lux.

"We have been tracking down my father for three years now, but, as far as I know, he has never shown himself to anyone when in delirium."

"Do you think it means something?" said Felix.

Lux, did not say anything for at least a whole minute, they just stayed calm for a while. Lux was seriously pondering what the meaning of his appearance means in this situation.

Amaliel preyed of the misfortune and hysterics humans almost living off the energy of those who were trapped in the fog. Zeref created these demons as a way to destroy humans in the most merciless way possible. However, the demon rarely showed themselves to the pray unless…

"Amaliel wants Erza's soul I think, or perhaps all of theirs," said Lux after the quiet.

It was now Felix's turn not to respond. He might have considered a similar idea when Erza had said what she remembered, but now it was becoming a serious concern. With Lux now worrying about it, the apprehension was so much more worse.

Outside, Lux and Felix heard the wind howl and the old building creak in response. They sat low, just listening to the raging storm outside that was forming overnight. Some winter storm was created then, snowing an icy blizzard around their makeshift home. The fire was still glowing in the hearth, keeping them from freezing.

"I think, possibly, he may come for them, especially since they are with us."

"Do you think that will seriously happen?"

Lux just sighed and responded, "Yes. I do." She came up into a sitting position, still whispering quietly to Felix. "Only because I feel that he will not just let them escape, or anyone for that matter. And since he has shown some interest in them at the time, I fear he may hunt them down."

Felix looked over to a sleeping Erza and Lucy, even Natsu and Gray. Although they were just new friends, he felt very protective of them for some reason.

"So what do we do about this?" said Felix, "They are not even close to overcoming their fear."

"I know," said Lux, almost a bit harshly but with the same protective tendency. "I do not want to see them get hurt either, however, we still cannot do this alone."

Felix just smiled even though Lux could not really see his expression in the low light. Sitting facing each other, Felix leaned in so their noses were almost touching and lightly kissed her lips.

Lux, however, not expecting that to happen, pulled back quickly and madly blushed.

"What the hell are you doing?" she whispered, "I thought we agreed that-"

"I know, Lux, and I am sorry," he said, looking her in the eyes, "I could not resist. I just thought you were too anxious and worked up. I though perhaps it would calm you down."

"It did not."

"I know," he said, looking away, blushing too. Their relationship was very strange, indefinable in a way.

"Let us just go back to bed, and we can talk about it in the morning," said Lux, laying back down, and shutting her eyes, letting everything that just happen slip from her conscious mind.

Felix did the same thing, and they resumed sleeping with their backs facing each other as always and gently let sleep take them.

Then, Erza let herself sleep, with a new fear in her heart from what she just heard.


	14. Fourteen

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Erza woke up to a bright white light that was penetrating her eyelids. Eyelids are not entirely opaque, and occasionally bright lights can wake even the deepest sleeper into consciousness.

She stretched out lazily, squinting her eyes, letting her arms and legs pull in opposite directions and yawning loudly. It was the first stretch of the day, and it was glorious.

Sitting up, she began to notice something was very different from what she was expecting. As he vision adjusted, she noticed immediately that she was not in the same place she went to bed in. In fact, she was not in the barn at all.

She was surrounded by tall white walls.

She was in the labyrinth.

Standing suddenly, Erza began to pace in question of reality. Was this some sort of dream? Why was she back in the labyrinth, and where was Lux if she was?

"Lux?" yelled Erza looking up into the night sky of the dimension, something she had seen before when she first came to the labyrinth. She called out again for Lux and even Felix, walking aimlessly throughout the rooms and halls.

She barely noticed that she was running in a panicked frenzy, trying to tell if what she was experiencing was reality of some test or hallucination.

Yet, just as she was about to give up hope, she wondered into a room and came upon a sleeping Natsu. He was such a heavy sleeper that no bright light or yelling could wake him, only brute force. He was strewn out in the same odd position he normally slept in, with his arms astray and his legs in no definitive direction.

"Natsu!" yelled Erza bending down to his side and shaking him awake, "Get up, it's an emergency."

"Five more minutes, Erza," moaned Natsu, rolling over to the other side. How pathetic.

Erza sighed at the useless morning attitude Natsu was showing. "Natsu, seriously, we're in the labyrinth for some reason, wake up."

Natsu just rolled over toward Erza, his eyes opening slowly and seeing her face before him. Then he started to notice the white walls around him and began to apprehend the strangeness of the situation.

"Why are we here?" he asked, suddenly wide awake, "Is this another training or something?"

"I don't know, Natsu," said Erza looking around, "I'm just as confused as you are." Erza began to think about the situation. Before, she was in the labyrinth alone because Lux only allowed one at a time within the labyrinth. Being with Natsu was definitely cause for question. "Perhaps since there are more than one of us in here, I'd say there is another reason behind this," she theorized aloud.

Natsu nodded, looking around. He was remembering the fact that there was no way out unless Lux was there, so they felt truly stranded in the labyrinth at this time, unaware of what was to happen or what to expect. What was going on in reality that they were being trapped in this dimension like criminals.

The entire time, Erza was thinking about what she heard the night before about Lux's father wanting to hunt down Erza for her soul. And all the while, she couldn't shake the image of Amaliel out of her head. There was something horrifying about seeing him come for her, wanting to destroy her soul by descent into madness. However, she did not let this fear come out, she did not want to worry Natsu with what she heard at the moment.

Natsu was beginning to walk around, and Erza followed silently. There was no actual point in walking around anyway since they would never find an exit. However, moving seemed to be calming the nerves and tension between the two teammates.

"Perhaps Lucy and Gray are in here as well," said Natsu suddenly, stopping and turning back to Erza.

"That would make sense," she said quietly, still thinking about Amaliel.

Natsu began to call out for Gray and Lucy as they walked among the rooms. It seemed that sound did not travel very far, because it was not until they were within the room Lucy was in that she finally heard them.

Lucy, unlike Natsu, was awake at the time, but she was leaning against the wall in fear. She was viably shaking and grasping her knees to her chest, a natural comforting position for humans. However, when she saw Natsu and Erza walk in, she began to feel more relieved and rushed over to them.

"Thank goodness," she said pawing at the two of them, "I was afraid I was alone and this was some cynical training exercise."

"Are you okay?" asked Natsu cocking his head at the almost hysterical Lucy. She had tears running down her face and she was pale from terror.

"Yes, I am feeling better now that I'm no longer alone," she said wiping a tear from her eye. That hadn't been aware that she was so hysterical in this situation. The labyrinth brought back bad memories of the nightmares so returning to the same location as those nightmares brought on mixed fears.

Natsu just smiled before cupping his hands and turning to the sky, "Lux?" he yelled, "Lux, if you can hear us, why the hell are we in here?"

At first there was no answer, but just as he was about to call again, the voice of Lux ran clear within the maze.

"I am sorry," came her voice from an unknown place, "You are there for you own protection."

Erza and Lucy both looked up as if the sound was coming from there. However, her voice seemed to radiate from every angle, from every corner and place in the maze. It was a surround of her calm and complacent voice, however, there was a hint of strain in usual disposition. Almost as if she was feigning calmness.

"Protection from what?" yelled Erza back.

Lux did not say anything for a moment, gathering her thoughts, but then she made the situation clear.

"We were attacked last night," she said wryly and straight forward, "He came and there was nothing I could do. You are not capable of withstanding the delirium, so I put all four of you in the labyrinth to protect you."

"Lux, are you fighting him now?" asked Erza, her voice showing that she could hardly believe the situation.

"I am," she said, "But do not worry, just remain here."

"No!" yelled Lucy, all of a sudden yelling up, "That is foolish and you know it. We decided we would help you defeat your father, so locking us up does nothing to further our mission. You also said that keeping more people is magically taxing, so you won't be able to win if you imprison us in here."

"Lucy, you do not-"

"Put a little more faith in us, Lux," said Natsu, joining in support, "We can do this, the only way we can is together. Let us out, and we'll finish what we started."

"I cannot guarantee your safety," she responded.

"We never asked for that," said Erza, all of a sudden chiming in, "We are here to help you, so let us out so we can do our part."


	15. Fifteen

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

A while earlier, the dead of night.

It was snowing heavily outside; a blizzard pounding at the small barn with gale force winds. However, it stood its ground and kept the six lodgers safe from the bitter cold and wind outside.

It was dark beside the light fire within the stone fireplace alongside the wall. The six young mages were sound asleep on the wooden floors, curled in the blankets Lux had fetched the first night they slept there. Beside the snoring and howling snow, there was a calm peace within the barn.

However, the peace was doomed to end as a grey fog started to roll in sometime in that dead night. It was the same smoky haze as before, a sign of menace and evil; a sign of nightmares. It was a precursor to a more sinister aspect waiting like a predator to kill its prey.

It was Lux who first woke up, at first a touch groggy as every person who first wakes up is. Keenly perceptive, she had woken up feeling that something was not quite right.

She was absolutely correct.

The room appeared as though it were full of smoke, but without the familiar smell or feeling of being within smoke. Fire's smoke made you physically uncomfortable and killed more gently, but this smoke was a different kind of poison of a different kind of terror. It only took the white haired young woman a few seconds before she fully understood what was happening at that moment.

Lux was not experiencing the arrival of delirium this quickly. And, though immune to this madness herself, this event in reality was as much a nightmare as any hallucination. She was almost paralyzed with fear at the moment, unaware of how to react at the moment. She immediately looked over to Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Erza, still asleep at the moment but beginning to convulse slightly from the fog.

And then to Felix, who was sleeping as well.

She had no choice. It was too soon for the plan to work, but she knew she had to do something and immediately.

"Felix!" she yelled shaking him with all her strength, "Wake up, Felix, please! It is happening!" Lux was yelling on the verge of tears, both from anger and fear that something terrible was going to happen.

Felix is usually hard to wake, but he shot up as if he was never sleeping at all. He rubbed his green eyes and looked around, noticing immediately the smoggy appearance of the room and also began to panic.

"Are you serious?" he said, almost in the same disbelief. He did not want to believe that the moment they were dreading was happening already. He stood, and Lux mocked his actions, looking to him for answers he clearly did not have.

"What are we going to do?" she cried gesturing to the four sleeping and shaking mages. Tears were welling in her eyes, "I cannot leave them here."

They merely stared at each other for answers for a short period of time that seemed to feel like hours. Their minds were so perplexed and panic-stricken that logic was not approaching fast enough. Rational thoughts never come as easily when stress is added to the equation.

After those few seconds, it was Felix who made the first move to finding some answer. He was switching his gaze from the four Fairy Tail mages back to Lux before answering. He put an arm on her shoulder and looked at her dead in the eyes. "Protect them Lux, put them in the labyrinth."

She blinked, not wanting to hear that response in the slightest.

"I cannot keep four people there and fight Felix, you know th-"

"Do not argue, Lux, this is not the time," he yelled. She had never seen him so serious and dire as he was right now. He let himself calm for a second, feeling the fog thicken by the second, then turned to Lux with the most sincere face he could muster. "Let me go. I will try my best."

"No!" yelled Lux, grabbing the collar of his shirt, "I will not let you do this alone right now."

"I am not asking for your permission," he said, just as calmly. Felix was being the one completely complacent and in charge for once, a complete change in roll. However, inside he was torn. He wanted to protect his four new friends, but he also wanted to protect his best friend, his partner, the one he loved so dearly.

Thinking back, it was Lux who had been there for him for as long as he could remember. She was his real family, and he could not deny that. He did not care what was going to happen to him, as long as he could save the ones he loved.

He leaned forward and kissed Lux's cheek, letting a small smile escape his lips.

"Have a little more faith in me," he said before running out the door into the blizzard.

Lux was the one crying now. She was not exactly sure what to feel right now. She was incredibly angry that Felix would do something like that. She was indescribably afraid of what was to happen and whether or not this was the end. However, under that mix of emotion, she was also incredibly determined on a level she had never felt before.

"You bastard," she said to herself, coming back to a state of action, and turning to the four mages before letting them disappear into the depths of her labyrinth where they would be safe.

Yet Lux could not sit still. Despite the fact that her magic was being strained, she had no choice but to help Felix. She had to help him for her own sake.

If she ever lost him…

It may be best not to think about that right now.


	16. Sixteen

CHAPTER SIXTEEN – Felix v. Amaliel

Felix ran into the snow, already nearly a foot high. He was not dressed for snow in the least, but he really did not mind. His adrenaline was rushing and he was far to determined to let something like the cold get in his way. There was no time to think at all.

"Hey!" he yelled out to the storm. Felix knew exactly who he was yelling to, but he could not see his enemy before him. "Amaliel-" he yelled to the storm, "Come out and face me you coward!"

There was no answer beside the rage of the storm for several seconds. Felix was just becoming more and more angered as the time went on. He was clutching his fists and looking up, even though he could not see very far with the storm raging and the darkness of night mixed in with the dark fog.

"Fight me," he yelled.

"Is that you, Felix?" then came a voice.

Felix turned around immediately to see the young face of Amaliel right there, an inch before his face. He had never seen him so close, leaning in and studying Felix's face.

Amaliel was strikingly young looking, ageless most likely. His handsome pale and almost grey face was staring him down, but his appearance was estranged by his blood red eyes looking right into Felix's green ones. His jet black hair was slicked back with snow falling on it and melting almost instantly, though it never became wet. His mouth was curved into a small, yet sadistic smile.

"I have never seen you this close before," he said, almost whispering. He remained just as close, and Felix could feel his breath on his skin. It was unsettling and terrifying regardless of how brave you were. A demon was only inches away.

"I can… I can say the same about you," said Felix, finding it hard to create words.

Amaliel laughed at that, coming back from his glaring. He put his hands on his waist, pulling back on the black suit jacket he was wearing.

Felix could not stand this man. Now was not the time to talk, not was the time for actions. He curled his fist, and augmented all his strength into his arm. He felt the surge of power, magically strengthening his skill and force like a building fire.

Then he came forward instantly, and punched Amaliel right on his cold face.

He flew back a few feet, clearly from the extra strength in Felix's punch. However, he did not fall back, but was merely pushed a few feet into the snow. Amaliel bent forward and rushed his hand to his face in reflex.

Amaliel just kept laughing slightly. "That almost hurt," he said coming back up, showing no sign of injury, "I am impressed. You are stronger than I remember."

"That is not all," he yelled running forward. Felix was beyond determined to give this man everything he deserved. He wanted him to suffer and feel the pain he and Lux witnessed. All the deaths and all the sorrow he and Lux had seen were giving him the power and strength he needed, regardless of magical amplification. Felix ran forward, putting all his power into his speed and attacking Amaliel viciously.

Amaliel, however, was faster, and able to dodge every punch or kick Felix was throwing. The whole time, he had an amused smile, as if he was fighting a child.

"Let's not be hasty-" teased Amaliel, grabbing Felix's fist as it came forward in attempt at a blow to him. "You are doing so well, though. You have become a fine opponent."

"Stop teasing me, you monster-" yelled Felix backing up, and leaning forward with his hands resting on his legs. He was beginning to feel strained ever so slightly, but he still had a good amount of energy left in him. "I plan to kill you, you know."

"I know that," said Amaliel, coming forward. He was there in an instant, and with a touch of his finger, he inflicted a different kind of magic on Felix. Inflict Pain.

Felix felt a bolt of electricity run from where Amaliel touched him through his veins and nerves. It spread slow enough to cause agony, but fast enough to hurt everywhere in your body within seconds. Each vein was on fire, each nerve was pinched. He could not handle the intensity, and began to fall into shock immediately, crumpling to the floor.

"You know, Felix," said Amaliel, coming down, "You interest me. You are the only human I have ever met that has overcome their fears. However, even you are not immune to pain, regardless of what Lux teaches you. Humans are so susceptible to pain."

But just then, Felix stopped convulsing. He placed his hands on the ground and looked up, a new fire in his eyes.

"Augment pain tolerance," he said as he began to stand, "I am not as helpless as you think I am."

Amaliel was a little taken back by his actions. Perhaps this young man was smarter than he first thought. Indeed Felix is an exceptional human in his own right. Although he may come across as goofy and the more amateur partner, he actually holds his own quite well.

The pain was fading fast as his tolerance was boosted quickly, and he ran forward to catch Amaliel off with a solid elbow jab to the gut followed by a second knock to the ribs.

This one caused Amaliel to fall back more than before. The punch had landed perfectly right in his stomach and knocked the wind from him. He was not expecting such from a human.

Felix was rather confident with his fighting skills, having been tutored by Lux over the years.

"We humans are more capable than you think. We are plenty strong," he said as he continued to attack Amaliel, kicking him repeatedly in the chest and head. Perhaps he was being a little cruel, but he felt like his actions were justified.

After a few kicks, Amaliel grabbed his leg and caught him off balance. It was Felix's turn to fall, as Amaliel rose to face him this time.

"I greatly disagree," he said, "The souls of humans are weak and easily destroyed, or have you not seen? Even you have your limits." Amaliel then threw his own punch, hitting Felix straight across the face.

Felix felt the pain in the punch and the blood rush from his nose and drip onto the pure white snow. He wiped it off not feeling too terribly wounded, returning to look Amaliel in his glowing red eyes.

Amaliel was holding down Felix and studying him again just as he was when he first appeared. "By the way, how did you manage to overcome madness?" he said, "Was it Lux?"

Felix did not want to say anything to him. He was not going to answer his taunting questions in fear that it may cost him a battle he was already losing. Yet, if he managed to last this long, he may be able to withstand more.

Seeing that Felix was not answering, he became more and more impatient with the blonde human bleeding beneath him. It was time to end this battle.

"I am tired of playing," said Amaliel. He held his finger out, touching Felix's forehead. "Let us inflict death right to the source, shall we?"

Felix knew exactly what was coming, and all he could do was muster all his energy to stop his own demise from taking place. He augmented his durability with all his remaining power before seeing darkness.


	17. Seventeen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Lux took a deep breath before opening a portal and letting Lucy, Erza, Gray, and Natsu pass through. Gray had found the other three only moments later before coming back to reality.

They immediately noticed that the room was filled with fog, and they were immediately terrified.

Lux just looked at them with her most serious and somber face, returning to her composed self but with a new hint of alacrity. "I will keep you conscious as long as I can for four people. However, do not rely solely on me, try to keep your grasp on reality as long as you can."

They nodded.

"I just hope Felix is alright," she said as they began to run out into the storm.

* * *

_Six year old Lux sat on the sandy stone streets of an alley way in some city unknown to her. She was absolutely exhausted, having been running for months to get as far away from her home. She had stowed away on boats, trains, and caravans; anything she could do to get away from home, she pursued._

_She was shivering even though it was rather hot in this current location, he knees braced against her chest for mock comfort._

_However, in all honesty, she did not feel safe or comforted in the slightest. She must have been on the other side of the world from where she once lived, but no distance would be far enough. No environment seemed to make her feel at ease._

_She wore only a torn grey frock made from cheap cloth that was poorly patched together along with almost completely destroyed boots with a light fur lining. Her long and disheveled white hair lay in dirty strands behind her ears and her radiant eyes were glazed with exhaustion and grave panic._

_It was sad to see such a child so alone and destroyed there against the walls, hiding indefinitely from all she has ever known._

_She must have just sat there and dozed off from sheer fatigue._

_By late afternoon, an older man of about fifty or sixty years was walking home and stumbled upon the quaking figure of Lux curled up in the alley. He felt automatically pulled to the child, feeling a great deal of sympathy and a great desire to help her._

_He approached the child slowly, putting a hand out as a symbol of peace._

_"Hello, little one. Are you lost?"_

_She did not say anything, she merely sniffed and wiped away a tear from her eye. Someone was being outwardly nice to her, something she was not used to._

_"Do you have a home?"_

_Lux, just stared at the man before nodding no. He seemed old but gentile, but still very capable in the way he presented himself. His hair was almost completely grey and his eyes were a simple brown color. He also gave off a war and very powerful grandfather-like presence._

_"Alright, then," he said, "Would you like to come with me off of the street?"_

_Lux ended up following the man home to his quaint home a few blocks away. He explained that his name was Tertius, and he worked in law enforcement and that he was a mage. Lux was automatically drawn to the man that showed her so much compassion, and found comfort in his hospitality. She was finally finding the safety and tranquility she had been searching for._

_He had four daughters, two of whom lived in the house, and welcomed Lux with love and care unlike anything she had ever experienced. They gave her a meal and a warm bed to sleep in, making her aware that she was welcome to stay as long as she needed. They gave her new clothes and taught her to read and write, a skill she picked up with amazing speed. Her intelligence was astounding and she was determined by nature. And, as time progressed, she slowly became a member of the family._

_When Lux was around eight years old, she began to show signs of magic. Lux always knew she was talented in magic, but never dared show it in front of people for fear of being discovered. Magic, to Lux, brought back nightmares of her father, so she avoided using it or showing she was even capable in any sense. She also feared that her new family would find that she was half demon and disown her._

_Tertius discovered Lux's magic by observing her, catching her creating small portals to make her tasks and chores easier. Eventually, she ended up telling Tertius about her past in a hysterical outburst and begged for him not to repudiate her. Thankfully, he never looked down on her of made her feel inferior in any way. He let her talk through her history, a long needed detoxification, until she was ready to pursue magic in a new, less dire attitude and without bad memories._

_Tertius helped her in many ways as a guiding figure that helped her sort out the darkness in her life as a young child, hopelessly lost and damaged. He, as the guild master, introduced her to the crime-fighting work of Septagram where she began to follow the idea of walking down the path of light rather than the path of her other sided soul. This became her life, her mind, and her work as time passed._

_Septagram proved to be Lux's greatest source of growth and development as well. She learned her magic and how to fight crime. She made friends and new family that helped her become the free and capable woman whose abilities seemed endless and whose future seemed radiant. And when she was nine years old, she also met Felix, another child her age training to one day join the guild as a full member._

_Felix had joined as an apprentice of the guild in order to prove to his family that he was a worthy child. Felix suffered from major attention issues and self-confidence problems that were also solved, in time, through the guild's love and compassion. The guild was the family he always wanted, who would accept him regardless of his accomplishments._

_It was family that saved them from themselves._


	18. Eighteen

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

If you have ever had a chance to run in snow greater than a foot deep, you will understand just how difficult it is. You run and jump simultaneously, and it is all quite exhausting. You have to raise your knee a full 90 degrees in order to not fall forward or snag your boot on the drifts.

Lux, even though she lived in a warm, oasis environment, ran faster than the other four, keeping them close as to not lose them. Lux had the ability to sense souls near to her, like a ray of sun and warmth coming from different directions. Every soul had a different signature feeling, a different way it reflected and sent energy.

Snow was falling like a white blanket, and the fog around made visibility almost negligible. The smoky gray almost made the snow seem like ash falling from a volcano but without the harsh breath affect. Yes this was more deadly, more devastating than falling ash. All the same, even though Lux could not see the menacing threat among the fog, she could feel his presence. She could feel every soul around her and their relative location. The one soulless figure must have been Amaliel.

She could even feel Felix's soul, one she knew so well from years and years of existing alongside him. He was a little while forward, and the same flickering spark his should showed was dimmer than it always appeared. She could only hope he was okay, she could only hope he was not beyond help.

Looking back for a split second, she saw Natsu, Erza, Lucy, and Gray following closely behind her. Although their faces were dreadfully serious in the moment, there was an added emotion to their faces. They were beginning to look distressed, but were holding along well, managing with all their will power.

Lux turned back forward, running to find that flickering flame a soul in a desperate rush. Her mind was on Felix and Felix alone. She was frantic to know what had happened to him and to see if she could do something.

Then there he was.

He was laying down in the snow, unconscious, and pale as the snow that surrounded him. His face was bloody and his breathing was shallow, his nose most likely broken from the fight, his body lacerated and clearly beaten.

But he was living.

That was  _all_  that mattered.

Lux become extremely reactive, running the last steps with greater strength full of panic induced endorphins. She cried out to him, kneeling at his side, and placed her two hands on his chest. She was in a state of panic, wanting nothing more than to have Felix be alright. He had taken a death wish, and was barely gripping onto life.

She knew what had happened the moment she felt his soul. Amaliel had tried to inflict death, an ability of the fallen angel and an ability of Zeref.

The soul, in Lux's field, is like a small fire. The soul comes in different heats, intensity, size, shapes, and personalities. Each soul can be kindled, strengthened, augmented, and even extinguished in time. All she needed to do was keep his fire going, and the rest will fall into place.

Immediately, the physical injuries began to heal themselves. The lacerations healed in time, and the bleeding ceased. The bruises faded, and every sign of injury seemed to disappear in that moment.

"You fool," she whispered, once knowing he was going to be alright. She gently removed her hands from his chest, and placed her hand on his cheek. She felt the warmth return and her fire begin to flicker before letting him disappear into the void of her dimension.

There was a moment of silence where everyone was looking onto the scene. Everything was less grave now that Felix was going to be alright.

Erza stepped forward, kneeling beside her and spoke calmly. "Is he going to be alright?"

Lux, now regaining her composure knowing that Felix was going to live, turned and nodded surely. "Yes," she said with greater confidence, "I portalled him back to the barn where he can be safe. He fought and he lost, he must have hardened his defense in order to prevent death."

Lux stood, the wind blowing her hair, her glare deadly and determined. She could feel the darkness roll in with a new kind of threat. This was no flickering soul coming her way. Menace was coming like the shadow of a fast moving cloud on a sunny day. She was more infuriated, more fierce to win than she had ever been before.

Going after Felix was a new kind of unforgivable act. Felix was her  _family_. You cannot mess with another person's family without suffering the consequences. Felix was her real family, despite the fact that she and Amaliel were biologically related.

"I feel him coming," she said, letting herself breath in calmly. The wind started to whirl around her, her coat tails blowing in the wind of the circling gusts. A magic circle appeared below her, and the bright light of her transformation exploded gloriously.

Lux stood in her blue and silver armor again, her expression geared in brutal purpose for victory.

There was a silent moment of understanding among the new friends. This was going to be one hell of an event.

This was it.

_"Well, well, what is this?"_

_"You know exactly what is this is," said Lux back to the directionless voice, "Today is the day I finally defeat you."_

_"Defeat me?"_

_"Without a doubt."_

_"Would you be willing enough?"_

_"I have never been more sure in my life," she said, "It has gone on for long enough. I am tired of evading, tired of losing, and tired of watching other suffer."_

_"Then let us not waste time," he said, "Come and do your best, daughter."_

_"We will."_


	19. Nineteen

CHAPTER NINETEEN – Erza

Erza followed suit, changing immediately into her Heaven's Wheel armor. The armor was similarly made of a silver metal with a feather theme that complimented Lux's own armor. Perhaps she was a little inspired by Lux's actions, wings spread, attacking the dark figure before her.

Erza observed that Lux was already on the offensive, attacking violently in a highly skilled hand-to-hand style. She was teleporting herself rapidly, landing blow after blow against her father. She jabbed her elbow to his face, transported, kicked his back, transported, then punching him down from mid flight. It was all happening to rapidly that it was near impossible to follow.

She could see from how she fought right them that Lux was a very physical fighter. Most of her power and offensive capabilities comes from her physical attacks paired with a magical edge to add extra emphasis. She fights quickly, using every appendage with deadly efficiency.

Lux was going after Amaliel, and they refused to speak. Perhaps Lux was too angry or perhaps it was easier for her to focus. However, Erza did notice that she was not having an easy time. This was no quick victory as it was with Natsu.

Everything was happening so fast, that it was hard to follow. One second they were before her, clashing in a physical mid-air battle, the next they were on the ground, fighting in the snow. Blink, and they were somewhere completely different.

It was a brilliant clash of light and dark, silver and black. And, since it was moving to fast, it looked like an exquisite light battle of quickly moving color.

Erza was quick to act in that moment, rushing forward with all her strength to aid a frenzied Lux. She had summoned two swords in her hands and was rushing forward in quick flight to aid.

Just as she was approaching, Lux noticed and gave a quick kick to Amalie's sending him in her direction. However, as Erza was just about to deliver a blow from her left-handed sword, Amaliel moved immediately and landed and punch to Erza straight in the chest. He was faster than she could have ever imagined.

It sent Erza immediately onto the ground, knocking all the air out of her lungs. It hurt more than a normal blow, and the area he punched her was slightly burning as if his hand was one fire.

As her eyes closed, a bright light shone through her eyelids. They opened immediately to see the strong burst of fire above, even visible through the snow and fog. She looked up, to see Natsu's Fire Dragon's Roar as it hit Amaliel.

Perhaps that was it. Maybe this was the end.

Wrong.

However, as the flames past, Amaliel still stood unfazed. No searing, no flinching. He was completely composed and unharmed even from such a powerful attack like that from Natsu's Fire Dragon's Roar.

It was unsettling.

Erza shut her eyes again, feeling the throbbing headache of the fog slowly take over. She was beginning to feel her pulse by her temple and her mind become cloudy with delirium. With each breath, more of the fog was entering her body. And with every breath, she was falling deeper and deeper.

She sat up, trying to fight it. She rubbed her temples, trying to alleviate the immense discomfort even though it did nothing.

The atmosphere around was loud with clashing fists, metal, and the roar of the wind and snow. She could hear that Lux and Amaliel were close by, and the sound of Sagittarius's arrows were also filling the air. There was another sound too, but she couldn't discern what it was.

Then it became more clear.

"You know, Erza, the burden of protection defines you."

She looked around, hearing that voice. At first it was a whisper, and then it was incredibly clear like a voice right beside her ear. She did not know who the voice belonged to, as she had not heard it before nor could she place a face to it.

Still, the voice spoke on. Her spirit was beginning to waver despite how hard she was resisting the delirium. She was succumbing slowly but surely.

"Losing people is traumatic. I know, I can feel its trauma in your very being. You hold that responsibility dear to you, do you not?"

Erza did not want to answer that.

"What about Felix? Did you know that if it was not for you and your friends, Lux could have gotten there sooner and Felix might not have gotten hurt. What do you say about that?"

"I have nothing to say to that. You are not real."

"Oh, but Erza," said the voice, "I am nothing more than the truth. Look in your heart, and you will see that I am real. And I know you hurt Erza, every time you think of Simon or Rob or all the people you let die."

"… I let die."

"Yes, Erza, admit it," taunted the voice, "You cannot protect everyone you-"

Just then, the voice fell silent, and Erza felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw that it was Lux standing over her. Looking up, her while wings framing her appearance, she truly looked like some sort of angel.

"Erza," she said, "Remember your attachment to reality."

Erza blinked, feeling the delirium and headache flee from her mind. Lux was touching her soul, giving it greater kindling and taking away the stress of madness. It felt like a light appearing in a shadowed room, chasing away the darkness and all the insecurities along with it.

She took a deep breath, allowing Lux to work her magic on Erza's clouded soul.

Then, just as the soul was returning to normal, Lux did something interesting. She kept improving Erza' soul, upping her skills and probability of winning. Just as Lux reduced Natsu's luck and chances when they fought, Lux could also do the opposite. She was giving providence to Erza's soul and being. It was a rush of energy and power unlike anything she had ever experienced.

But just as Erza was about to turn and thank Lux, she was gone. The sound of the fight was ongoing, and it was almost as if Lux was only there for a second, then gone again back into combat.

Now was not the time to think too far into the situation. There was no time to make and conclusions about what had just happened. All Erza knew what that she was feeling empowered and ready to aid Lux in this fight.

It is time to act.


	20. Twenty

CHAPTER TWENTY

Lux did not know how much longer she could last. Every few minutes she would have to detoxify Natsu, Lucy, Erza, or Gray in order to stop them from falling into the depths of delirium. In addition, they were less effective against Amaliel anyway as he was on a whole different level of skill and speed. In their deteriorated state, they did not stand a chance against him.

In fact, he was faster than she remembered, and much more skilled than before. Although she did not want to consider this, perhaps her father was getting stronger too over time. Amaliel could feel rage and vengeance just as well as Lux, and might have been fueled with emotion and a desire to win; all the more deadly.

Landing hard onto the snow, punched blatantly across the chest, Lux cried out in pain. Her back took the brunt of the fall which would have killed any ordinary being. The area was spinning and she was beginning to feel sick from defeat and the attacks were hurting more and more every second. She could not react fast enough to muster any shielding in that moment and her defense and durability were wearing thin. She was undoubtedly beginning to show signs of exhaustion even though her father was completely composed.

"Come, now, Lux," he said, coming close. He kneeled down to a pained Lux, who was trying to sit up. Amaliel merely pushed her down, looking into her golden eyes, and hand on her chest, "I know you can do better than that."

"Do not taunt me," yelled Lux, pushing his hand away. She pushed back and managed to stand, "Besides, if you wanted to kill me, why did you not do it before? Why not when I was a helpless child or infant? Why now?"

Amaliel placed his fingers on his chin, mulling over the question. Perhaps he was doing this to aggravate her, since she knew he knew the answer. He was playing with her on a cynical level that was beginning to cause anger and tension to rise to a higher level, if at all possible.

"Answer me," she demanded, serious and blunt.

Amaliel just smiled sadistically, a wide Cheshire grin full of malevolence. He then placed his hands in his pockets, leaning onto one foot rather casually. "You know, I have always hated your name. Lux. Lux." He said her name as if it was a revolting word or as if the sound left a bad taste in his mouth. "Lux means light, which is very unfitting because of your nature and origins. There is nothing light about your existence or where you come from. But that was what your mother named you, so there was nothing I could do about that horrid naming."

Lux's eyes widened. Why would he bring up this conversation at a time like this? This was the first time he even mentioned her mother even existing. The only thing Lux knew was that she had died when she was an infant and she deduced it was likely her father who killed her.

Amaliel laughed, seeing Lux's shocked expression.

"Ah, I must have grabbed your attention then, huh?" he said. He walked forward, but Lux stayed at a distance, walking back as he approached. "You probably know you were not conceived out of love, or out of any kind of compassion. No. You were conceived out of force and rape, I will be honest with you. Although you almost certainly knew that all along without me having to tell you; somewhere in your mind you know that to be it. Then that whore of your mother had you and could not stand your presence and killed herself out of grief."

Although painful to think about, he was absolutely right. Her assumptions throughout the questions of her existence were correct. However, it did not make the truth any less painful or less guilty for what she had inadvertently done.

But Lux was out for more than a confirmation of what she already knew. "You still have not answered my question. Why did you just not kill me then? Why raise me?"

"Perhaps I thought you were more demon than human."

Lux did not respond, she merely broke eye contact and looked away. She could not stand to look in his red eyes, every second she saw just how much hatred was in her soul. A fire was starting in her, and a new kind of anger was approaching. She clenched her fists and shook a little, overwhelmed in emotion.

But, just as she was about to strike forward, a new sound erupted. A voice, clean and crisp even in the wind and snow yelling with passion blaring.

"Shut the hell up, you bastard!"

It was Gray.

He had come forward in dead sprint, two swords of ice in hand, and finally landed a blow on Amaliel sending him back a bit into the snow. Gray stood before him, enraged. His shirt was somehow missing. He had heard the conversation between Lux and her father and had also become enraged, feeling her pain well up inside of him as a new drive for action. However, Gray was more prone to quick action and sprung into the fight when he could no longer take the words of hatred before Lux did.

"Gray, no!" yelled Lux, bolting forward, letting her speed take over. A knot was forming in her stomach as she anticipated the next moves in the fight. She got right in front of him and stretched her arms wide, shielding him from what she knew was coming.

Just as her magical shield appeared, Amaliel came forward with two fingers pointed. He was planning on inflicting death on Gray, and Lux had sensed that motive like a looming shadow. However, as soon as his fingers touched her shield, it shattered instantly like thing glass from a bullet.

She knew this was bound to happen. The shield was no true match against a spell like Inflict Death. The shield was more valuable against physical attacks, not attacks against the soul where the shield itself was fuelled from.

Suddenly, from behind in Flight Armor came Erza scarlet. Her speed was greatly augmented and her skill was sharper and more advanced than she had ever felt. Running toward, with her sword pointed forward, she appeared from the fog with swift determination.

She jabbed the sword into the back of Amaliel such that it came through and impaled him completely. Straight through where a human's heart would be.

There was a moment where Amaliel merely chocked, letting all the air out of his lungs in shock. He reacted like anyone else would initially who had just been stabbed. But then he reached behind himself and pulled out the sword. No blood dripped and there was no sign of impaling the moment he took the sword from his abdomen. He dropped it onto the snow and turned around to face the one who had thrust it in.

"Pitiful," he said dusting off his jacket, now ripped, "You cannot kill a demon the way you would a human, little girl."

Although the sword play did little to combat Amaliel, it did give Lux a moment to recuperate and find her footing. In that second, she bolted forward faster than wind and tackled her father with vicious force. Her arms braced her head and shoulders, shoving him back into the ground with brute force.

She was landing blow after blow on him. These punches seemed to be most effective on him, and he seemed to be subdued from her actions, merely accepting them. Although no physical damage was done, Lux smiled in a local triumph the whole time.

"Lux!" yelled Gray, looking at her, "Why not decrease him skill like you did to Natsu?"

She turned to him, and in that moment, Amaliel shoved her off and took off for the sky, dark wings spread. She yelled in frustration, letting him get away so easily before turning to Gray.

"You do not understand," she said, "That only works on creatures with a soul."


	21. Twenty-one

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Every punch, every hit, every attack brought a sharp stab on Lux's soul. They were not average physical attacks, and every time they would go at each other, memories flashed before Lux's eyes.

This was a unique ability but also a rather sadistic and cynical one. Physical injuries are one thing, but the flashbulb memories were another thing. It distracted those attacking and placed them at a disadvantage, lost in their memories.

This was what was happening every time Amaliel got the upper hand and struck her. Every contact would bring back some image or sequence from her memory, something she could not defend against. All she could do was stand strong and retain her sense of what reality was.

* * *

_Lux watched on as Felix walked among the white walls of the labyrinth. He moved slowly, and was murmuring to himself as he often did in this situation. His eyes were squeezed shut, his hands shaking lightly at his side, and a drop of sweat was falling from his jaw line._

_Her arms were crossed as she watched him. It had been nearly 60 minutes that Felix had withstood delirium. It was his new record and he was still going strong avoiding the impending madness._

_He then slowly opened his eyes and looked up to Lux, and smiled weakly. He looked like he was managing pain while trying to act like it was no big deal._

_"You are doing amazing," she said to him. She began to step forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, returning a comforting smile and removing the delirium from his mind like snuffing out a flame._

_He relaxed immediately, letting out a sigh. He regained his composure instantly and looked back at Lux with a sense of pride._

_"I think you are ready," she said._

_They walked back to reality, right within Lux's apartment as the sun was setting in Augusta. The air was warm and smelt of tropics, as always, and the sun in the room was lit in an orangey haze. It was home, and there was a new sense of peace whenever they return to that familiar environment._

_The labyrinth, in all honesty, was not comforting in the least because it was not necessarily real. It was a figment of Lux's power and mind, not a livable environment._

_"Do you really think so?" he said, sitting at her two person table they often ate meals at. He rested his head on his forearms, slumping forward and watching Lux walk around her kitchen and take out the kettle she used to make tea._

_Lux turned back to him and nodded, "I am sure," she said, "I think you have proven you can handle your fears. The real question though is if you yourself are ready."_

_Felix thought about it, looking out the window as a palm tree of the oasis blew in the light dusk breeze as characteristic of Augusta's always reliable weather. Was he ready to confront his fears in person? Both Lux and Tertius, their guild master, had agreed that the last step in overcoming one's innate fears are to address them head on. This could only happen, however, if one could muster the will and courage to do so and work towards it never plaguing them again._

_"Maybe," he said._

_Lux did not respond. She placed the kettle of water on the lit fire and watched it for a moment before turning to sit across from Felix. She mocked his actions, coming to rest her head on her forearms as well._

_Felix looked up into her golden eyes as a thought passed his head. "What about you?" he asked quietly, looking at her and raising and eyebrow. His voice was muffled in his arms, but she heard him loud and clear._

_"What about me?" she said, also raising her eyebrow. "Have I not told you? I am not entirely human so I am immune to the effects of delirium."_

_"No, not that. I mean, you are half human if I am not mistaken. And you have told me before you have a soul. So just how can you be immune to delirium when it targets a soul? Should you not at least be half affected?"_

_Lux, blinked, wondering if his bombardment of questions was finally over. Assuming they were, she began to answer._

_"Felix, it is never a partial thing. Either you are affected or not, there is no half-assed delirium."_

_Felix was taken aback by her crude choice of words. She almost never spoke with anything less than well developed syntax and vocabulary. This was partially because of how she was raised with Tertius and what was expected out of her as the most powerful mage in the guild._

_"Are you saying you have no soul, Lux?"_

_"No, no, I definitely do," she said swatting away his comment as if it were a fly with her hand. She was speaking so causally even though Felix had just asked if she had no soul. "All that happens is that I use my… other half."_

_"Other half? You mean your demon half?"_

_"Yes," she said quickly, "That exact one. I use it to shield myself in a way. I do not want to say I let it 'take over' my human soul, but that is the truth."_

_They did not speak for a few seconds, just let the light fade until they could not see each other's emotions in the dimmed room. The sun was now completely below the horizon._

_"So you just… prevent it from affecting you? Are you sure that is healthy? Are you sure letting your non-human half shield your human half is good for you?"_

_"God, Felix," she said standing hearing the kettle boil, "What is with all the questions? You should not worry about me. You should worry about whether or not you are going to pull through with your own journey."_

_Felix did not want to say anything else back. If Lux did not want to talk about it, as she clearly was showing, she would avoid it by changing the subject. However, Felix did have to think if he was ready or not to make the decision to tell his family the truth._

_Lux filtered the water through the ground leaves and into two cups, handing one to Felix._


	22. Twnety-Two

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Lucy

Now there is nothing to be seen from where the blonde stands. Faintly she can make out the sound of clashing metal but it was severely blurred by the rushing wind and smoky blindness.

The snow was cold… stinging.

Lucy let out a long sigh, walking forward but finding no point in her actions. She could follow the sounds but they seemed to come from no direction in particular. The locations kept changing place and it was too hard to follow. Her efforts would be pointless.

She thought perhaps the best she could do was get out of the smoke. Horologium would be the best bet as she could wait in the hollows of the grandfather clock until she was needed. He would protect her from the poisonous smoke around her and the bitter cold of the snow.

She reached down to her belt to retrieve…

Her keys were missing.

This was extremely bad. Without her keys she was…

Useless.

You're useless Lucy, said the voice in her head. You only possess holder magic. You can't help Lux or your friends and family without your keys.

You have to rely on others all the time but they can never rely on you. How does that feel to be a burden to your friends? You cannot protect them.

Erza, Natsu, and Gray are all out there, skilled mages, while you sit here complaining. How can you call yourself a Fairy Tail mage if you cannot even protect others. Without your keys, you are useless.

What would you be if you did not have the celestial spirits to protect you? You'd be ordinary in every way.

Lucy felt extremely pathetic in that moment. The voice in her head was true. She was a completely useless member without her keys. She had no beneficial magic to give at a moment like this.

Her friends will be out there dying for her and she could not provide any help.

Lucy was kneeling in the snow now. She brought her knees to her chest ignoring the cold on her rather underdressed skin. It was beginning to feel numb but, then again, her heart and mind were numb too.

She covered her face and freely wept.

Why are you crying, Lucy?

Because I'm useless.

So you cry over something like that? That only shows how weak you have become. Your friends would not be crying right now even if they were useless or at odd ends. They would give there all to the fight. Have you given up?

I've given up.

Then cry Lucy. You should not consider yourself a member of this guild any more. Pathetic.

Lucy was beginning to feel faint and exhausted from the emotional turmoil taking place in her mind. She lay down in the snow feeling isolated from everything in the universe.

She felt alone and unloved.

Lux felt the light that she came to accept as Lucy's soul dwindle. She was feeling the strong effects of delirium right now but she could do very little for the girl.

Every time she focused on Lucy or another feeling the effects of delirium she would have to lose focus with the fight. It was too hard to keep track of four mages suffering from delirium while also fighting a demon face on.

Right then she received a blow to the lower jaw then sent her hurdling out of the sky. She could not focus in that haze as she hit the earth like a meteorite.

She swore coming up for a second, her hand on her head. Without magic protecting her durability, that would have certainly killed any normal human being. Of course, Lux was not entirely human.

Just then she looked up into the burning red eyes of her father as he placed a foot down onto her chest, slamming her back onto the ground.

Lux grabbed her father's ankle to relieve the pressure on her rib cage and looked up.

"Why… do you want Lucy's soul?" she stammered, nearly choked out of air.

"I do not," he said, "She just happens to be in the equation. I want the soul of Natsu and Erza as they seem to be the strongest and most impressive I have encountered so far. Lucy and Gray are valuable consolation prizes. Idealistically I would want yours but that may prove more difficult than theirs."

"Tough," she said pushing back, forcing Amaliel off her so she could muster the strength to stand again. "I will not let your hurt them like you do everyone else," she yelled pointing forward, "Even if it costs me my life. I live now to protect others, something you would never understand."

"You are right, I do not understand."

"I would not expect you to. What is the point of living if we cannot benefit the world with our presence? I chose to become part of something bigger than myself and it has given me purpose. I can experience love and compassion and family. What can you say life has given you?"

"What is life anyway to me?" he said, "And soon you will not have to worry about anything, once I kill you."

Lux lunged forward, restarting the physical battle of silver and black. She could feel the souls of the four mages around her.

Lucy was fading fast. The delirium was eating her like a parasite.

Before Lux could look again… Lucy had fallen.


	23. Twenty-Three

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Lux was losing a large part of her strength now. Her breathing was more belabored and her whole body was aching. She found it hard to work through soul manipulations while constantly being bombarded. Her stamina was becoming fatigued, something she rarely experienced in her level of fitness. Her magic was wearing thin from having to use her entire arsenal to fight someone of this immense power. Her vision was tunneled and her pulse was pounding in her head.

Her own soul was fatigued and her magic was suffering subsequently. When fighting another threat, another battle, Lux was able to manipulate the opposing force's soul. This was how her magic worked, via soul manipulation be it her own or the soul of one she is fighting.

This was a different monster because her attacker had no soul. All she could rely on was the manipulation of her own soul and all Amaliel could do was manipulate others'. It was an unfair battle of opposing forces. Lux could only hope her soul was strong enough to hold out.

But in those moments, her hope was wearing thin.

Amaliel was significantly faster than her and much more skilled in the art of battle. He was not human and did not follow the same laws of fighting that a human would use. His stamina was seemingly infinite, his durability was nothing like Lux had ever experienced in the human world. He was, in a word, built to be undefeatable. Lux was one of the greatest fighters in the world but was struggling to even keep up against her demonic father. She was only half of the true capability she was facing.

Occasionally, Lux could land a blow or shield herself against a blow. But in reality, she was more a punching bag than anything. She was testing her own durability in this battle on levels she had never experienced before. She felt like a majority of this battle was defense for her, draining thin extremely quickly. She did not know how long she could last.

Back on the ground, Lux spread her arms out wide to produce a soul of her own energy to shield on oncoming attack. It barely did anything though, as she was thrown back instantly from the oncoming attack.

But lying there in the snow, she had a moment to break back and look around at the souls of her new friends. She closed her eyes and looked around.

And what she found scared her immensely.

Every soul around her was now just a flicker. Each one was succumbing to the delirium. Each one was suffering now in their own minds. Amaliel was inside every one of their minds while still being in a fight.

Lux was unable to keep up.

Lucy, who was the first to fall, was a shaking mess in the snow, tears staining her face within the snow. Gray, fallen on his knees with his fists balled. Erza, crippled over in extreme sorrow and pain. And lastly, Natsu, who was struggling with all his strength to fight internal madness.

Lux let out her own cry of pain in anguish. Her life purpose was to protect others but she could not. She let Felix get hurt, she let these innocent mages suffer the pains of delirium and there is nothing she could do to stop it.

Tears flowed from her eyes. A strange habit for her.

"You cry Lux," came the dark voice, and out of the smoke was Amaliel. His hands were in his pockets and his face was smug, smiling sadistically.

Lux looked up with tears falling from her eyes.

"Do you know what tears mean?"

Lux did not answer. She wiped away the tears with the back of her hand and tried not to make eye contact with the embodiment of madness. Her silence was enough of an answer. Perhaps she was not speaking to hold onto whatever was left of her own pride.

"Tears mean that you are vulnerable," he said kneeling down to get face-to-face close with his daughter. "They remind me of when you were little, just a small child. You were so vulnerable back then… but nothing has truly changed has it? Do you still resent me?"

"What kind of question is that?" she yelled, "Of course I resent you. You have always been a resentful creature even to your own family. You neglected me, abused me, and hurt me until I broke. I was just a child. But you broke me."

He laughed.

"I did," he said coldly, "It shows that you are not as strong as you make yourself out to be. You are part human, Lux, which means you are weak. It also means that you have a soul, which also makes you weak."

"Having a soul does not make you weak."

"Yes it does. Because having a soul makes you vulnerable to delirium. You are vulnerable despite what you say. Even you can fall into madness."

And in that moment, Lux lost touch with her own sense of reality.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning before you read! This chapter does involve child abuse. If you are sensitive, don't read it! It is not, for the record, that intense. It merely talks about hitting a child and tormenting a child. Just a warning!
> 
> Let's get going!

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

 

Lux did not realize she had come out of her Valkyrie take-over until she felt the cold snow against her bare skin and the lack of a helmet as she grabbed her white hair. Her hands were bare and her movement was more free without the armor, but she was extremely more vulnerable in this state.

 

Her head was pounding as the delirium entered her mind and there was nothing she could do to stop it. It was entering through her skin, her mouth, even her eyes and was painful as it was maddening.

 

She was kneeling in the snow, yelling incoherently as the delirium entered her soul and there was little she could do to stop it. She was yelling in pain as well as anguish as she felt her own demise coming in. This madness was parasitic and moving too fast throughout every limb in her body.

 

It felt like an intense heat taking over, like fire was traveling in every vein through her lungs, brain, even to her feet. She was hot even in the snow. It was a sensation she had not felt since she was a young child, but she remembered it perfectly.

 

* * *

 

_Lux was only four years old but even then she was constantly afraid._

_They lived in the north, a tundra-like area in a small abandoned hunters cottage made of stone. It was several miles from the nearest zone of civilization and completely isolated in nature._

_It was always extremely cold, even in the summer months. A cold breeze would come in from the mountains, which were always snow-capped, and would rush through the valley and chill anyone to the bone. Stories used to tell of explorers dying from sudden bursts of cold in the valleys like a wall of ice had hit them. Lux was a small child and extremely frail at her age. The cold was just as dangerous to her, and she quickly learned to adapt to the extreme cold in order to survive._

_This was where Lux lived and also where she suffered, and she was often alone. Her father would leave for extended periods of time, leaving little Lux alone. He would often lock her in the abandoned cottage where she would practically starve with what little food he left or she could find._

_However, being home alone was always better than when her father was there. That began a new nightmare that was far worse than the neglect she experienced while being home alone. Being alone was the only time she felt at peace. She was not hit or hurt or made to experience darkness or madness._

_She played by herself and cried by herself. Yet all that beat being with the monster who sired her._

_He would return from terrorizing innocent people and not take a beat before terrorizing the little white haired girl, imprisoned within that stone cottage._

_He would grab her by the hair, waking her from her sleep and toss her across the room. He would kick her and physically abuse her for fun, and taunt her and humiliate her the rest of the time._

_At night, he would lock her in a small cabinet that was far too small even for the little girl. There she would suppress her crying because that always brought more harsh treatment. She learned quickly to suppress those feelings in order to save herself from the abuse. Just be quiet._

_The worst, however, was being subject to delirium which was always present whenever her father was home. It brought instant nightmares and subjected her to an endless abuse that contorted her mind and sanity relentlessly._

_She learned quickly that if she suppressed her human soul, the delirium could not affect her as much. However, it was a double-edged sword as it reminded her of what she was. She was nothing more than a child of a monster and, therefore, a monster herself. Half her soul was not there._

_Lux was also beginning to learn that she possessed an affinity for magic. However, she kept this greatly hidden in those early years for fear that she would be beaten more for revealing this trait._

_She hated every second she lived in that environment and feared for her life. She knew nothing about an outside world, but presumed there were others as her father often boasted about tormenting other people in villages near and far. However, Lux was still greatly in the dark most of her young life. She knew nothing of love or kindness; no compassion, and no comfort._

_Life was constantly living in fear for her._

“Lux!” yelled a voice, “Lux! Snap out of it!”

 

* * *

 

 

That voice was penetrating her mind like a whisper. She blinked and looked up, her eyes were bloodshot from the madness flowing around in her mind like the poison it was.Her hands were still pulling on her hair in agony.

 

She looked towards the sound which was becoming louder every second she kept sentient.

 

Then, from the fog, came one pink haired mage, hunched over and barely conscious himself. He was trudging through the snow with whatever was left of his own strength. He was clearly struggling in his own delirium, yet he pursued forward to where Lux was.

 

Amaliel was so wrapped up in inflicting his own daughter with delirium that he did not notice Natsu mustering enough strength for one final blow. However, even Natsu knew his limits and channeled all his energy into breaking through to Lux.

 

Lux looked forward and saw him, as he sank to his knees, losing all his own energy.

 

“Don’t forget who you are and what reality is! Remember, it is just your mind. Your soul is stronger, Lux. Having a soul does not make you weak. You are stronger!” he yelled before letting go and sinking to the snow.

 

Lux just shook, watching him as the words saturated her mind.

 

“I am stronger,” she repeated, and stood.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters after this (testing my attention span and determination)
> 
> I MUST FINISH THIS TO DEFEAT MY ADD!!!

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

 

Lux stood now, not bothering to undergo take-over. She stood in her regular clothes, brushing off the snow, and looked up to find her father with his arms crossed standing before her.

 

Lux had a glow of anger in her eyes, full of a need to protect and save those important to her. Her mind, now clear, was stronger than it had been before. It was a fortress made of will completely protected by a soul with a purpose. No longer did she have to suppress her human side, now she embraced it and would use it as her greatest weapon.

 

“You’re doing better,” said Amaliel, watching Lux simply glare at him. He said it in mock tone, thinking this was her last stand before falling.

 

Suddenly, Lux burst forward with unmatched strength backup with a new clarity and a stronger purpose. She felt undefeatable with a new burst of energy.

 

She punched Amaliel straight in the face, sending him flying backward and into the snow. Her strength was greater than it had been before. This was the dawn of her new force, embracing the strength of a human and of the soul.

 

“Fuck,” said Amaliel clutching his face where the punch had landed, he wavered for a moment in shock, “Where is this coming from?”

 

However, Lux was already there, no answer to be given when he stood, and she delivered a great blow from a kick to his chest sending him back even further.

 

“You know, I just realized something from the delirium that I failed to see before. I used to think having a soul made a person weak and vulnerable, but that is not true. Having a soul makes you weak  _only_  if you choose to believe that. However, if you think it makes you stronger, it will,” she said delivering another punch, “But is that not ironic? You power can come from how you perceive your strength or weakness. It is a shame I did not realize it sooner. Our magic comes from the manipulation of the soul, but you do not have a soul to manipulate. I figure that puts  _you_  at the disadvantage.”

 

Lux was standing over a bent down Amaliel. She grabbed his suit and threw him back again with a new kind of strength.

 

“But if I can manipulate my soul, I can make it invulnerable to you. I am stronger  _because_ I have a soul, not the other way around.”

 

“You are just a fool,” said Amaliel standing, “Having a soul is like putting a target on your head,” he said attacking forward.

 

Lux merely outstretched her arms in an act of shielding. She had done this before, but now she was stronger. She was using all her soul with confidence that it truly was her strongest attribute.

 

It stood the test, and Amaliel hit the wall, incapable of breaking it. The force of the rebound sent him back, ricocheted from his own blasts.

 

“What is this?” muttered Amaliel, fallen onto his knees, slowly rising again but clearly weakened from the onslaught of great power from none other than his own daughter.

 

“This is what it means to be alive,” yelled Lux, lunging forward. She channeled every last inch of her power, confidence, soul and determination into her two stretched forward fingers. Her eyes were fired and golden, glossed with fortitude and power to protect and snuff out this cause of pain and suffering.

 

* * *

 

Lux was more fatigued than she thought, and when she stood, she found it hard to focus. She had just used all her magic in that one attack, so, naturally, she would be exhausted.

 

She stood, though, slowly and looked around. Wind was blowing lightly, her white hair following the breeze.

 

The fog was gone and snow was falling lightly, more peaceful than before. The sun was just rising over the mountains and bringing the soft pinks and oranges of a new morning through the light snow. It was beautiful and raw at the same time.

 

The blizzard had died in that time and the clouds were dispersing.

 

She took a moment, looking towards the sun in her haze, before realizing the absence of the fog.

 

She had won.

 

Amaliel stood before her as the stone statue form he was originally built from before her, posed in his typical stature. That with his arms crossed and his face smug, one leg crossed over the other in a relative casual pose. It was a dark stone statue with grey veins, like marble, but expertly carved, nothing any human could pull off. This was a statue fit for gods, or demons.

 

Lux took a second to look over the stone figure. Cold and lifeless, a stone statue come to life is exactly what a demon was like. He was created to cause suffering, but it can be reversed. She looked back onto her painful childhood and all the abuse she went through.

 

No tears fell from her cheeks. This was not a sad moment and she felt no ounce of sadness. Your family is not who you are related to by blood but rather those who care for you and love you and comfort you when you are sad. Family does not abuse you or torture you like some sick-minded demon.

 

Her family was Felix, Tertius, her guild, and her friends who gave her the love she so desperately needed even when she was broken.

 

And with that thought, Lux delivered a powerful kick to the center of the statue, breaking it into five pieces.

 

No emotion. No care. Just a purpose.

 

**TBC**


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SECOND TO LAST CHAPTER
> 
> LET'S DO THIS
> 
> (runs away)

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX**

Erza woke up to Lux's smooth hands wrapping a bandage around her forearm. Her eyes slowly blinked open, showing her breathless onyx-brown eyes that met Lux's gold ones before words were exchanged. Lux had her hair tied back even though her white bangs hung forward with a gentile curl, hiding her face from Erza from where she laid.

Lux sent a voiceless message of peace and calmness to Erza as she worked, sharing her victory and revelation with her new friend. Erza noticed the fog being cleared, and the sun shining through the open door in the barn they had slept at just the night before.

It was finally morning. And a bright one at that.

"Everyone is safe," said Lux in a calm voice without needing to be asked, her regular, calm and professional demeanor returning. Something in her tone was comforting; the teacher had prevailed in the fight, and she was returning to normal again. "The bandages are wrapped in a special magic herb from Augustus that helps speed healing. I did what I could for all of you, to return your sanity and well being. This is just the finishing touch."

Erza began sitting up, she was a little sore, but that was it for the extent of pain. Her head felt like cold water washed over her brain, cleansing out the pollution of madness with it.

She felt mentally reborn.

Around her, Natsu, Grey, and Lucy were all laying on the floor just as wrapped up in bandages but still in a remarkably good condition. They were breathing calmly, which warmed her heart to see her friends were alive and well.

However, there were still unanswered questions floating around in her mind. Erza turned back to Lux and asked quietly to not wake the others, "How'd you do it?"

Lux sighed, sitting back on her heels and resting her hands on her palms.

"I should not have, really. I was so sure that I was compromised and giving in myself to the madness. But, from nowhere, Natsu mustered enough energy to remind me what reality was and that I was strong enough to defeat him. It was like a call-to-arms in a way, a last shot of confidence I needed.

"After that, well it is all just a blur. I went wild and channeled all my energy through my soul. It must have been enough."

"And you killed him?"

"I reverted him to his original form, that of a stone statue."

"And where is the statue?" said Erza, still in a whisper.

"I destroyed it. But, I did keep a small chunk that I will bring home to present to the guild and keep on behalf of everything that Felix and I have gone through."

Erza's eyes widened, "And Felix, is he-"

"I am fine," came a voice. It was Felix, standing behind Erza with his arms crossed. He was back in good condition, no doubt from the actions of Lux to save his life from before. He had a great sense of accomplishment around him, and also a sense of confidence arising from their completed journey. His green eyes looked down, healthy and glowing as if nothing has happened to him.

"That's good to hear."

All of a sudden, Gray began to make sounds of waking up and their attention was diverted to him as he began to sit up, rubbing his head and pushing his hair back from his face.

"Motherfucker," he swore, "What happened?"

Erza laughed, standing to join Lux and Felix.

"She won," said Erza putting a hand on Lux's shoulder.

"I watched the full thing. You should have seen her, she was shooting fire from her eyes and light from her hands."

"None of that happened, Natsu," said Lux, "I cannot even do that."

Natsu looked down, "You know Lux, you can emphasize your story if you want. Saying you basically just used what you  _already_  had stored up is not very climatic."

Lux laughed, they were all sitting in the barn recounting in the aftermath of what had just happened. Everyone had woken up, Natsu being the last one even though Lux was the first to rescue him after the battle.

"I am not going to exaggerate anything, Natsu," said Lux, "Sometimes the truth is the most interesting and also the easiest to remember when you have to tell stories again and again in the future. We had one person in our guild come back from jobs and lie about everything he did to sound more impressive, probably thinking he could earn a promotion. The only problem was he could not keep track of his own details!"

Everyone nodded in agreement at that.

"Well," said Lux standing, "I am sure you are all ready to go back home now, are you not?"

Everyone was looking up at her, but no one was brave enough to say the one thing that was on all of their minds. After something like this, they all had one last request to ask of Lux.

They all looked at Lucy, who was usually the best speaker among them. She was brave enough to ask. She took a moment after nodding to place her words and looked directly at a quiet, standing Lux. She stood to meet her.

"We were all just wondering if, perhaps, if you could… finish teaching us about overcoming our fears?"

Lux was taken aback by the request. If anything, she thought they would be dead set against repeating delirium in order to learn this skill. She just stood, her mouth slightly open, caught completely off guard.

"We realize we are all weaker than we'd like to be," said Gray standing, "And you showed us potential to defeat our own fears. No matter what, many of us would like to overcome that nightmare. I think it would make us stronger mages."

Lux looked down at her feet.

"Even if it might hurt you? I do not know if I could do that again after what happened," she said, trailing off.

"Lux," said Felix, putting a hand on her shoulder, "They are right. You would not be hurting them. You would be making them even stronger and more able to keep this world at bay. You have greater control than him, use it to make the world a safer place."

Lux adhered to Felix's words.

"Fine."

**TBC**


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES! LAST CHAPTER! Now I'm completely done and I was able to finish it which is really quite empowering.

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN**

 

_Two Months Later_

The train back to Magnolia was swift because the group talked the whole time.

Lux and Felix had done it, taking Lucy, Erza, Gray, and Natsu to Augustus to learn to overcome their fears. It had been long, intense, and painful but worth it in the end. They could not deny their newfound confidence and self-respect was somehow empowering.

Lucy was the first to succeed, overcoming her fear of not being accepted or loved. Natsu was next, getting over his fear of abandonment, then Gray with his fear of ongoing guilt and regret, and Erza was last, overcoming her fear of not being able to protect the ones she loved.

Living in Augustus was a different experience because it was a completely different world and culture. However, the oasis city was beautiful and mysterious, always bustling with life and people.

Lux and Felix introduced them to their guild which was incredibly different from their home back in Magnolia. Their guild was a more regal building, made of marble and had columns and everything to make it seem more impressive. The guild was in the heart of the booming city, and stood out as something powerful and impressive. It was truly a symbol of order and peace.

The guild was so much more formal and official, and the people made it their career to make the world a safer place. It reminded them of a specialized police station with all the duty and organization not found back at the Fairy Tail guild hall.

The guild had a massive main hall and specialized areas for training, sparring, missions, applications for promotion, assignments and registration. It was a different kind of life, one with less crazy fun and one with more designated duty.

But there was a giant spar ring for members who challenged others to fights. Apparently Lux gets many challenges but wins in seconds.

Everyone was welcoming of Lux and Felix and curious about the four foreigners who were in tow of their greatest and most powerful mage. She had brought them to stay at her apartment for the period but were also welcome in the guild to train with her.

Lux spent the first night with everyone at the guild hall in the upstairs private study of the guild master, Tertius, going over what had happened. Tertius was a very understanding and wise man, who sat back and let them relay the story before giving any feedback.

He said he was immensely proud of Lux and Felix and her new mindset to teach people how to overcome their nightmare. Tertius opened up the guild to the four visitors for the time in gratitude for helping Lux on her great quest.

Lux and Felix had decided that night on a new goal to put in action. They wanted to pursue a new mission of destroying all the other fallen angels to stop them from ever becoming active demons and reining terror like Amaliel had in the north.

However, their first task was to teach this new skill to their friends. Ever since they experienced delirium, Lucy, Natsu, Grey, and Erza were nothing but anxious to relieve themselves of the manifested nightmare that showed them just how vulnerable they truly were.

Lux and Felix were incredibly supporting as, everyday, she subjected the four to rigorous training in her dimensions, and coaching them through to becoming more tolerant of their nightmares. Felix also helped Lux in her willingness to use that power, understanding it used to teach and make her friends stronger.

Lux would have long extended talks with each one before and after the session in the process of quelling the anxiety and madness, slowly seeing progress in each individual. They were all so determined that they seemed to move at a faster pace, and were all more willing to push themselves to receive their results.

She helped them meditate and Felix helped teach each one coping mechanisms. Each time, Lux had to break each one, but every exercise showed that they were becoming stronger and more resilient.

Some nights they would cry, and everyone would come as comfort as they let out their stress and fears one by one to relieve the pressure of grown anxiety.

Some nights they cried together, other nights they laughed. They had grown close in that time and became true friends.

However, in time, the four mages of Fairy Tail had completed learning how to overcome their greatest fears and nightmares and needed to return home. It was a bittersweet moment, but reflecting back, every moment was worth the time and effort.

Lux and Felix had shown to be life-long friends and promised to stay in touch with Fairy Tail. They offered their assistance at a moment's notice if anything was going wrong or if they needed some help be it mentally or on a job.

They saw them off to the train, and watched that train leave for Magnolia with their new founds friends and family going away.

No one could deny that the four people that arrived in Magnolia and headed back home were strikingly more confident and empowered than they had been when they left.

It was truly worth the journey. They were truly changed for the better, ready to face the world but with clearer minds and souls.

THE END


End file.
